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THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 


THE  LIGHT  OF 
FOUR  CANDLES 


PUBLISHED    BY   THE   AUTHOR 

BOSTON,  MASS.,  U.  S.  A. 

I908 


-4 


Copyright,  1908 

By  C.  F.  KING 

Boston,  Massachusetts,  U.  S.  A. 


PRESS   OF 

MURRAY   AND    EMERY   COMPANY 

BOSTON 


.A. 


^ 


^t/t^^^ 


TO    THE    THOUSANDS    OF    INVESTORS 

whose  support  made  possible  the  upbuilding  in 

seven  years  of  a  business  aggregating 

millions  of  dollars, 

and  whose  confidence  and   appreciation,   even 

after  that  business  was  wrecked  by  the 

Thugs  of  Finance, 

brought  about  its  speedy  rehabilitation, 

thus  assuring  its  renewed 

growth  to  even  greater  proportions 

than  before, 

THIS    BOOK    IS    DEDICATED 


L 


FOREWORD 

IN  turning  the  pages  of  this  book,  remember, 
please,  that  it  is  not  a  novel.  It  is  not 
fiction.  It  is  not  a  theoretical  treatise. 
It  is  not  abstract  philosophy.  It  is  not  a  story 
of  things  that  might  have  been. 

It  is  History. 

Between  these  covers  is  the  story  of  a  war. 
There  is  the  roar  of  actual  conflict,  and  the 
terrible  hush  that  follows  the  cannonading, 
while  the  armies  send  red-crossed  bearers  to 
carry  away  the  dead  and  wounded.  There 
are  attacks  and  operations  of  defense — there 
are  pitched  battles  and  thrilling  skirmishes — 
there  may  be  heard  the  rattle  of  musketry,  the 
isolated  crack  of  the  sharp-shooters'  rifles  and 
the  muffled  hoofbeat  of  the  midnight  rider — 
and  in  the  darkness,  skulking,  may  be  seen  the 
masked  face  of  the  cowardly  assassin. 

This  is  a  story  of  Men.  Men  who  fight — 
and  men  who  strike  and  run  away.  Men 
who  battle  out  in  the  open,  without  giving 
ground — and  men  who  drive  a  dagger  in  the 
back.  Its  scope  is  as  broad  as  justice,  as 
humanity  itself. 

vii 


There  have  gone  into  the  making  of  these 
pages  the  inmost  thoughts  of  a  man  who  has 
battled  against  odds  and  who  unhesitatingly 
rests  the  judgment  as  to  whether  or  not  he 
has  made  a  good  fight  with  those  who  read. 
Every  line  represents  an  earnest  endeavor — 
every  word  a  heart-throb.  His  every  energy, 
his  every  ambition,  his  every  ounce  of  nervous 
force  and  every  drop  of  blood  have  been  given 
to  the  fight  described  in  this  book.  He  has 
stood  on  the  battle-field,  sometimes  with  a 
handful  of  followers,  sometimes  with  an  army, 
sometimes  alone — but  always  with  his  face  to 
the  foe. 

As  you  read  chapter  after  chapter  perhaps 
you  will  pause — perhaps  there  will  come  over 
you  a  feeling  of  horror — as  the  plot  unfolds  and 
develops,  and  you  will  exclaim,  "  Can  this  be 
possible  in  America,  the  land  of  the  free,  the 
home  of  the  brave?" 

Aye,  can  it  be  possible — can  it  be  possible  ? 
So  thought  I  before  it  came  to  pass — came  to 
pass,  not  in  darkest  Africa  or  bleak  Siberia, 
but  in  Boston,  Massachusetts,  United  States 
of  America. 

C.  F.  KING. 

Boston,  November,  1908. 


VIII 


Chapter  1. 
Chapter  2. 
Chapter  3. 
Chapter  4. 
Chapter  5. 
Chapter  6. 
Chapter  7. 
Chapter  8. 
Chapter  9. 
Chapter  10. 
Chapter  11. 
Chapter  12. 
Chapter  13. 
Chapter  14. 
Chapter  15. 
Chapter  16. 
Chapter  17. 
Chapter  18. 
Chapter  19. 
Chapter  20. 
Chapter  21. 
Chapter  22. 
Chapter  23. 
Chapter  24. 


CONTENTS 

Thuggee 

A  Mistaken  Mercy  . 
Red  Hills,  Farewell  . 
Bricks  without  Straw 
The  Silver  Tongue  of  Idaho 

Climbing 

That  Is  Finance 

Credo  . 

The  Wolf-Pack  and  Its  Leader 
In  the  Day's  Work  . 
An  Unsavory  Boom . 
A  Blow  in  the  Dark 
Judas  and  Caiaphas 
Thirty  Pieces  of  Silver  . 
A  Plot  that  Failed    .      .      . 
Investigation  and  Vindication 
While  the  City  Waited  .      . 
A  Million-Dollar  Bribe  .      . 
Hewing  Straight  to  the  Line 
Under  False  Colors  . 
A  Senseless  Attack   . 
Died— William  W.  White    . 
The  Power  Higher  Up  . 
A  Conscienceless  Campaign 
ix 


Page 

1 

8 

19 

23 

32 

37 

47 

68 

73 

95 

104 

115 

126 

138 

152 

164 

173 

181 

202 

216 

229 

233 

240 

248 


Chapter  25. 
Chapter  26. 
Chapter  27. 
Chapter  28. 
Chapter  29. 
Chapter  30. 
Chapter  31. 
Chapter  32. 
Chapter  33. 
Chapter  34. 
Chapter  35. 
Chapter  36. 
Chapter  37. 
Chapter  38. 
Chapter  39. 
Chapter  40. 
Chapter  41. 
Chapter  42. 
Chapter  43. 
Chapter  44. 
Chapter  45. 
Chapter  46. 
Chapter  47. 
Chapter  48. 
Chapter  49. 
Chapter  50. 


Thus  Far  Shalt  Thou  Go   . 
Progress — and  an  Insurrection 
A  Rat  in  a  Trap 
The  Cry  for  Mercy  . 

Peace  

Gathering  Thunder  Clouds 
The  Tempest  Breaks 
In  the  Path  of  the  Storm 
Sounding  the  Assembly 
A  Convincing  Test   . 
Plans — and  a  Planner    . 
The  Whirl  of  the  Market 
Lawson  Redivivus    . 
Enter  the  District  Attorney 
An  Unexpected  Stab 
A  Bitter  Interview    . 
The  Rules  of  the  Game 


Rising  Waters 

The  Flood      .      .      . 

To  Be  or  Not  to  Be 


Drifting 

Under  the  Southern  Cross 
In  the  Island  of  Ceylon 
Homeward  Bound     . 
Back  to  a  Wreck 
"  The  Light  of  Four  Candles 


x 


The  Light  of  Four  Candles 

Chapter  I 
THUGGEE 

IN  INDIA — land  of  palaces  and  hovels,  of 
light  and  darkness,  of  high  aspirations  and 
low  brutalities — sits  enthroned  the  ten- 
armed  goddess  Kali.  She  is  spouse  of  Siva, 
the  creator,  and  all  Hind  knows  her  as  the 
genius  of  destruction,  murder,  assassination, 
and  sudden,  terrible  death. 

Sworn  to  her  service  are  her  devotees,  and 
her  service  is  a  service  of  blood.  She  demands 
of  men  a  sacrifice  no  less  than  life  itself. 
To  placate  her  insatiable  thirst  for  destruction 
her  priests  kill.  Secretly,  under  cover  of 
darkness,  they  kill.  Disguised  as  pilgrims 
they  mix  with  those  pious  Hindus  who  journey 
to  the  sacred  Ganges,  and  in  an  unguarded 
moment  hurl  around  the  unsuspecting 
stranger's  throat  the  knotted  cord  that  bears 
upon  its  end  a  weight  imaged  in  the  likeness 
of  the  horrible  goddess.  Without  a  sound 
he  dies.  His  body  goes  to  the  Ganges 
crocodiles.     His  soul  passes  back  to  the  gods 

1 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

— into  Nirvana — out  of  the  dream  of  Brahm. 
His  murderer  makes  an  ablution  and  offers 
up  thanks  that  she  has  strengthened  him  to 
give  her  one  more  victim. 

In  all  India  there  is  no  more  compelling 
fear  than  that  of  the  disciples  of  Kali,  for  they 
are  without  pity,  without  compassion  and 
without  remorse.  They  are  stranglers  by 
religion  and  trade.  In  Hindu  their  practice 
of  secret  murder  is  known  as  'Thuggee" 
and  they  themselves  are  called  'Thugs." 
From  this  the  word  has  come  to  America, 
where  it  means  a  rough,  a  law-breaker,  a 
deceiver,  a  hired  disturber. 

There  are  comparatively  few  Thugs  in 
India  to-day.  It  is  due  to  the  energy,  the 
courage  and  the  iron  hand  of  one  English- 
man that  this  is  so.  He  was  Lord  Bentinck, 
and  it  was  eighty  years  ago  that  he  ruled  in 
the  land  of  many  gods  and  determined  that 
Thuggee  must  go.  Until  then,  horrible  as 
the  sacrifice  had  been,  great  as  had  been  its 
toll  of  innocent  and  unsuspecting  pilgrims, 
it  had  been  suffered  to  exist  in  the  much- 
abused  name  of  religion.  Custom  was  its 
excuse.  It  has  been  practised  since  the 
thirteenth  century,  said  the  Hindus.     To  root 

2 


THUGGEE 

it  out  might  unsettle  the  English  rule,  said 
the  weak  and  timid.     Then  came  Bentinck. 

For  seven  years — from  1828  to  1835 — he 
strove  against  the  Thugs.  Through  all  those 
interminable  months  his  life  hung  by  a 
thread.  Marked  from  one  end  of  India  to 
the  other  for  sacrifice,  he  still  did  his  duty. 
In  those  seven  years  of  administration  one 
thousand  five  hundred  and  sixty-two  Thugs 
were  hanged,  transported  or  imprisoned  for 
life.  The  sect  was  almost  exterminated. 
To-day,  in  India,  there  are  a  few  devotees  of 
the  ten-armed  goddess  who  pursue  their 
deadly  trade.  But  they  are  far  back  in  the 
interior  of  the  country,  where  British  rule  is 
more  a  name  than  a  fact.  The  stranger  in 
the  greater  part  of  the  land  is  free  from  the 
terrors  of  the  knotted  cord. 

And  so  it  must  be  written  down  that  the 
work  of  Bentinck  was  good  work — that  he 
did  well — that  he  accomplished  much  in  the 
land  where  the  opportunity  was  at  hand  for 
much  good  to  be  accomplished.  He  did  not 
take  into  consideration  the  custom  of  his  day 
or  the  custom  of  days  gone  by.  And  yet, 
perhaps,  had  Bentinck  met  the  death  that 
for  seven  years  hovered  close  to  him  like  a 

3 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

great,  spreading  shadow,  there  might  be  some 
who  would  say  of  him  to  this  day  that  it 
served  him  right — that  he  should  have  left 
well  enough  alone — that  he  should  not  have 
interfered. 

A  few,  perhaps,  would  say  that,  and  yet 
countless  thousands  of  others  in  India,  fol- 
lowers of  all  the  abundance  of  gods  in  that 
land,  have  mourned  his  death  and  builded 
to  his  memory  the  enduring  monument  of 
Fame. 

It  is  a  far  cry  from  distant,  benighted  India 
to  America,  of  which  we  like  to  sing  loudly 
as  "the  land  of  the  free  and  the  home  of  the 
brave" — although  a  large  percentage  of  us 
do  not  know  the  words  of  one  entire  verse 
of  the  song.  It  is  a  long  month's  journey 
from  the  temples  of  Kali  to  the  shrines  of 
Wall  and  State  Streets.  You  who  read  may 
think,  at  first  blush,  that  only  a  fanatic  can 
find  a  fair  simile  between  the  half -naked, 
red-eyed  murderer  of  India,  with  his  knotted 
cord,  and  the  smooth-jowled,  well-groomed 
devotee  of  Wall  or  State  Street,  with  his 
telephone  and  stock  ticker. 

In  this  book  I  shall  show  to  you  that  there 
is  a  system  of  robbery  and  ruin  in  America 

4 


THUGGEE 

that  takes  more  toll  of  lives  than  does  the 
struggling  remnant  of  Kali's  devotees  in 
far-off  Hind.  I  will  show  to  you  that  he  who 
protests  against  the  scheme  of  things,  as  soon 
as  his  voice  rises  loudly  enough  to  be  heard 
above  the  hum  of  the  street,  is  a  marked  man. 
I  will  show  you  that  he  who  has  the  honesty, 
the  earnestness  and  the  courage  to  speak  for 
the  submerged  victims  of  financial  Thuggee 
is  himself  picked  for  the  next  sacrifice,  and 
fortunate  indeed  is  he  who  can  escape  the 
web  woven  for  him  by  the  Master  Thugs. 

I  will  give  you  a  history  of  things  as  they 
were  and  are.  I  will  write  down,  so  that  all 
who  run  may  read,  and  all  who  read  may 
know,  the  innermost  details  of  the  battle 
that  I  have  waged  for  many  long,  weary  years. 

I  shall  not  juggle  with  the  truth.  What 
I  know  I  know.  What  I  have  seen  I  have 
seen.  I  am  about  to  set  it  all  down,  with 
the  dates  of  the  happenings,  the  details  of  the 
occurrences  and  the  names  of  the  actors.  I 
shall  not  suppress  any  of  it. 

I  shall  not,  however,  write  in  a  spirit  of 
revenge.  In  the  long  ago,  my  good  mother 
taught  me,  as  a  child  upon  her  knee,  to  under- 
stand   that  vengeance    belongs    to  God,  and 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

I  am  thankful  that  the  early  teachings  of 
my  mother  make  it  possible  for  me  to  remem- 
ber without  bitterness  whatever  ill,  hurt  or 
harm  a  fellow-man  may  have  attempted  to 
cause  me  at  any  time. 

So  what  I  write  in  this  book  is  written  with- 
out malice,  without  ill-feeling,  without  harsh 
recollections,  with  peace  in  my  own  soul  and 
good- will  toward  every  one. 

When  I  returned  to  my  home  on  the  evening 
of  the  twelfth  of  June  and  learned  the  details 
of  the  campaign  of  damnation  and  destruction 
which  had  been  inaugurated  against  me  and 
the  corporations  with  which  I  had  been 
affiliated — when  the  plot  was  fully  unfolded 
to  me  and  I  began  to  realize  the  meaning  of 
it  all — I  do  not  pretend  to  say  that  in  my 
heart  there  arose  a  spirit  of  forgiveness 
toward  the  Thugs  responsible  for  the  things 
that  had  been  done  and  that  were  scheduled 
to  be  done.  I  wish  that  it  were  so.  I  wish 
that  my  mind,  my  heart  and  my  life  were  so 
pure  and  free  from  sin  that  I  could  on  that 
occasion  have  followed  the  example  of  that 
Leader  of  men  and  said,  "I  forgive."  But 
I  could  not. 

This  much,  however,  I  did.     I  sent  word 

6 


THUGGEE 

by    trusted    friends    to    two    individuals    in 
Boston — two    men    who    call    Boston    home, 
and  who  have  occasion  to  move  about  that 
portion  of  the  city  where  I  am  most  often 
to  be  seen,  and  this  was  the  message  I  sent 
to  them:  "I  do  not  want  to  meet  you  face  to 
face.     I   hope   I   shall   not   rub   elbows   with 
you   on   the   sidewalk.     I   shall   endeavor   to 
avoid  you  at  hotels,  cafes  and  clubs.     Should 
you  see  me  at  any  time  I  request  that  you 
cross  to  the  other  side  of  the  street — get  out 
of  my  way.     I  do  not  want  to  come  close  to 
you,    and   I   am   very   much   afraid   my   feet 
would  not  turn  the  other  way  should  I  see  you 

first." 

My  prayer  to  high  heaven  is  that  I  shall 
be  permitted  to  finish  this  life  without  at  any 
time  meeting  the  two  men  here  referred  to, 
and  that  I  may  in  time  be  able  to  close  my 
eyes  to  the  past  and  forget— just  forget! 


Chapter  II 
A   MISTAKEN    MERCY 

A  PICTURE  is  indelibly  imprinted  upon 
my  mind — a  picture  of  a  moment 
of  triumph. 

Mine  had  become  the  greatest  individual 
financial  house  in  America.  My  offices  oc- 
cupied an  entire  floor  and  nearly  one-half 
of  another  floor  in  a  great  office  building  in 
the  city  of  Boston.  These  rooms  were  filled, 
at  the  moment  of  which  I  write,  with  the 
executives  with  whom  I  had  surrounded  my- 
self.    I  had  summoned  them  for  a  conference. 

There  had  been  many  years  of  struggle, 
years  of  up-building,  years  of  hard,  unceasing 
effort.  Success  had  come  at  last;  success 
moral  and  success  material.  I  had  become 
a  leader  of  an  army  numbering  thousands  of 
investors  who  believed  the  financial  gospel  I 
had  preached. 

Then  came  the  day  when  my  leadership 
made  inroads  into  the  program  of  pillage 
engineered  by  the  Master  Thug.  He  set 
for  himself,  as  his  first  and  most  important 

8 


A    MISTAKEN    MERCY 

task,  my  destruction.  It  was  a  task  that  he 
must  accomplish  if  he  would  have  license 
to  hurl  the  knotted  cord  as  had  been  his 
custom.  He  spared  neither  money,  toil  nor 
resource.  He  had  influence;  he  had  access 
to  power  in  high  places;  greatest  of  all,  he 
had  hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars,  taken 
in  toll  from  those  who  had  trusted  him.  All 
these  things  he  pitted  against  the  right  that 
I  and  my  followers  stood  for. 

The  battle  had  waged  long  and  bitterly. 
At  moments  he  had  seemed  to  have  the  best 
of  it.  At  other  moments  fortune  had  seemed 
to  favor  the  armies  of  truth.  For  months 
the  contest  was  waged. 

Now  it  was  over. 

The  balance  had  turned  in  my  favor. 
The  Master  Craftsman,  by  a  tactical  mistake, 
had  placed  himself  in  my  power.  The  con- 
ference in  my  office  was  to  decide  just  how 
and  when  to  administer  the  coup  de  grace 
that  should  rid  the  innocent  investors  of 
America,  for  all  time,  of  this  man  and  his 
methods. 

It  was  an  impressive  company  that  I 
summoned  to  meet  me  that  morning  in  the 
spring  of  1907. 

9 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

There  were  the  executives  of  my  Boston 
office — office  manager  and  advertising  mana- 
ger and  their  assistants.  There  were  the 
more  important  heads  from  my  New  York 
office,  which  was  then  even  larger  and  more 
ambitious  than  my  home  office  in  Boston. 
There  were  the  best  men  from  the  Boston 
Daily  Tribune,  my  newspaper — the  editors, 
the  financial  writers,  the  artists,  the  cartoon- 
ists and  the  star  reporters.  There  were 
attorneys,  and  accountants,  and  other  men 
in  whose  judgment  and  discretion  I  had 
confidence. 

As  they  assembled,  one  by  one,  and  took 
seats  in  my  private  office  until  that  com- 
modious room  was  crowded  to  the  doors, 
I  surveyed  them  with  pride.  I  believed 
then — and  I  believe  now — that  no  more  able, 
energetic  and  competent  staff  of  lieutenants 
has  ever  been  assembled  by  a  financial  house 
in  this  country  than  that  with  which  I  was 
surrounded.  I  believed  then — and,  with  one 
or  two  exceptions,  I  believe  now — that  no 
more  honest,  faithful,  devoted  and  loyal  staff 
ever  surrounded  an  employer. 

On  the  big,  square  desk  in  the  middle  of 
the  room — my   private   desk — was   a   pile   of 

10 


A    MISTAKEN    MERCY 

manuscript.  There  were  letters,  advertise- 
ments, affidavits.  It  contained  at  least  a 
hundred  component  parts.     It  was  evidence. 

When  the  staff  was  assembled  I  placed 
before  its  members  something  of  the  detail 
of  what  had  been  gathered.  I  asked  their 
advice  as  to  what  I  should  do.  From  every 
corner  of  the  room,  with  hardly  a  dissenting 
voice,  came  the  reply: 

"  Stop  Lawson,  once  and  forever." 

It  was  pointed  out  that  this  last  engage- 
ment in  the  war  that  had  been  waged  must 
be  a  fight  to  the  death.  No  quarter  could 
be  asked  and  none  could  be  given.  It  was 
pointed  out  that  the  arch-enemy  of  investors, 
with  his  back  to  the  wall,  might  be  expected 
to  fight  like  a  rat  in  a  trap,  for  he  has  always 
been  a  fighter,  albeit  his  telling  blows  are 
invariably  delivered  in  the  dark  and  below 
the  belt.  It  was  pointed  out  that  I  might 
expect  extravagant  suits  for  damages,  that 
every  man  present — especially  those  employed 
on  the  Boston  Daily  Tribune,  which  would 
bear  the  brunt  of  the  initial  skirmishing — 
might  expect  to  be  arrested  for  criminal  libel. 

From  the  desk  I  took  a  pile  of  little  oblong 
slips.     They   were   cashiers'   checks,   payable 

11 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

to  my  order,  representing  nearly  all  the  ready 
money  I  possessed.  I  had  withdrawn  all 
cash  deposited  in  banks,  for  the  two-fold 
purpose  of  preventing  my  bank  accounts 
being  attached  as  part  of  the  Lawson  retalia- 
tory campaign  and  to  have  a  sufficiency  of 
ready  money  to  provide  any  and  all  bonds 
that  might  be  required  to  protect  my  property, 
my  person  or  my  employees. 

In  that  little  pile  of  paper  was  over  four 
hundred  and  fifty  thousand  dollars.  As  I 
look  back  over  the  dark  vista  of  the  past 
few  months,  I  realize  that  that  vast  amount 
of  money,  plus  such  other  property  as  I  then 
possessed,  worth  at  least  two  hundred  thou- 
sand dollars  more — was  the  price  of  mercy. 

But  one  man  in  all  that  company  advised 
that  I  show  mercy  to  the  man  whom  I  then 
had  in  my  power.  His  name  will  be  found 
in  more  than  one  place  in  this  book.  I 
thought  I  knew  him,  then — I  was  mistaken. 

Every  other  member  of  my  staff  favored 
immediate  and  drastic  action.  Some  of  them 
urged  it  on  the  ground  of  right,  of  justice, 
of  fair  and  proper  retribution  for  the  sins 
committed  against  hundreds  and  thousands 
of   innocent    investors.     Others,    with    a    less 

12 


A  MISTAKEN  MERCY 

altruistic  spirit,  urged  it  on  the  ground  of 
business  expediency. 

"  It  is  you  or  Lawson,"  said  one,  earnestly. 
"He  has  spent  thousands  of  dollars  in  a 
fruitless  attempt  to  ruin  you.  He  will  spend 
thousands  more,  for  every  day  you  are  in 
business  his  profits  are  hundreds  of  dollars 
less  than  they  would  be  if  he  were  not  harried 
by  your  exposures  of  his  plans.  If  he  had 
ever  secured  anything  against  you  he  would 
not  have  spared  you.  It  is  your  duty  to 
yourself,  to  your  family,  to  us,  just  as  much 
as  to  the  investors  of  whom  these  others 
speak,  to  stop  Lawson  now  and  for  all  time." 

For  upwards  of  an  hour  I  listened.  Then 
I  gave  my  decision. 

"You  are  right,  gentlemen,"  I  said.  'We 
will  proceed  with  the  fight.  There  can  be 
but  one  end.     We  will  give  no  quarter." 

I  issued  definite  instructions  to  the  staff 
of  the  Boston  Daily  Tribune,  as  a  result  of 
which  there  appeared  in  that  newspaper, 
the  following  morning,  the  most  complete 
and  detailed  exposure  of  the  Master  Thug 
and  his  methods  that  ever  graced  the  columns 
of  any  American  publication. 

In     printing     this     bombardment     against 

13 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

Thomas  W.  Lawson,  I  announced  boldly 
that  it  was  but  the  beginning  of  the  fight,  and 
that  I  proposed  to  carry  it  to  the  last  ditch. 
I  had  in  my  possession  at  that  time  evidence 
which  I  believed  would  bring  to  a  quick  end 
the  money -getting  of  the  great  charlatan.  I 
announced  at  that  time  that  the  evidence  in  my 
possession  would  be  immediately  lodged  where 
it  would  be  most  effectual,  and  I  proposed 
to  follow  it  up  with  all  the  vigor  and  earnest- 
ness at  my  command. 

When  I  made  that  statement,  I  as  firmly 
intended  carrying  out  that  plan  as  at  this 
moment  I  intend  to  write  the  paragraph 
that  follows  this  one. 

Why  is  it  that  men,  ordinarily  far-seeing 
and  strong,  build  up  a  pyramid  of  work  only 
to  leave  the  apex  unfinished?  Why  is  it  that 
a  traveler,  coming  upon  a  venomous  snake 
and  getting  his  heel  upon  the  reptile's  head, 
shudders,  forbears  to  stamp  upon  it  and 
turns  away,  allowing  the  wounded  monster 
to  crawl  off  to  recover  and  sink  his  fangs  into 
a  later  journeyer — perhaps  into  the  flesh  of 
the  very  man  who  spared  him  ? 

There  are  great  leaders  who  say  that  mercy 
at  a  critical  moment  is  weakness.     Perhaps 

14 


A  MISTAKEN  MERCY 

it  is.  Probably  the  great  general,  Grant, 
was  right,  when  he  maintained  that  he  was 
strongest  and  in  the  end  most  humane  when 
he  sent  his  men  against  the  Southern  cannon 
in  such  multitudes  that,  although  thousands 
died,  the  battles  were  won  by  sheer  force  of 
numbers. 

As  I  look  back  upon  the  days  that  are 
gone  I  cannot  think  of  any  other  argument 
that  could  have  induced  me  to  withhold  my 
punishing  hand— to  lift  my  heel  from  the 
snake's  head — to  sit  supinely  by  and  wait— 
than  the  appeal  that  was  made  to  me  soon 
after  this  conference.  Whether  it  was  mere 
chance  that  caused  this  particular  appeal  to 
be  made,  or  whether  it  was  due  to  Lawson's 
knowledge  of  my  nature,  or  whether,  perhaps, 
he  did  at  that  moment  intend  to  keep  his 
word  and  sin  no  more  against  the  investors 
of  the  country,  I  do  not  know.  But  truth 
it  is  that  the  appeal  was  made  to  me  in  the 
name  of  ordinary  humanity— disassociated 
from  all  reference  to  what  had  gone  before. 

I  was  ever  filled  with  sympathy  for  the 
sick.  That  man  who  is  suffering  bodily  ill 
commands  my  pity  and  help,  be  he  good  man 
or  bad  man,  follower  of  the  Christ  or  disciple 

15 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

of  Pluto.  I  think  I  can  safely  leave  the 
judgment  as  to  this  to  the  hundreds  of  people 
whose  business  obligations  to  me  have  been 
interrupted  by  illness  and  who  have  had 
experience  with  my  attitude  toward  those 
who  suffer  misfortune. 

My  hand  was  stretched  out  to  smite.  My 
mind  was  closed  to  mercy.  And  then  came 
word  that  Thomas  W.  Lawson,  wearied  and 
ill,  wished  to  spend  the  summer  in  Europe 
in  search  of  health  and  could  not  go  unless 
I  would  agree  to  cease  my  campaign  against 
him  until  his  return. 

A  truce  was  asked  for.  It  would  have 
been  refused  on  any  other  ground.  But 
when  the  intermediary,  no  less  important  a 
man  than  the  Mayor  of  Boston,  urged  me 
to  concede  it  on  the  ground  that  delay  meant 
nothing  to  my  plans,  while  to  refuse  would 
mean  that  I  was  fighting  a  sick  man,  I  yielded. 

Did  I  do  wrong?  If  so,  I  have  suffered 
for  it  more  than  any  one  else.  Should  I  have 
forged  ahead,  forgetting  that  "the  quality 
of  mercy  is  not  strained"?  Perhaps.  And 
yet  I  did  not  have  it  in  my  heart  to  kick  a 
sick  man  while  he  was  down.  To  be  sure, 
although    he    had    promised    me    a    warning 

16 


A  MISTAKEN  MERCY 

when  he  was  ready  to  renew  the  fight,  he 
seized  the  first  opportunity  after  his  recovery 
to  plunge  a  knife  into  my  back.  Yet,  even 
now,  I  cannot  feel  that  I  did  entirely  wrong. 
At  least  it  would  have  been  right  with  any 
other  person — any  man  with  a  soul  and  a 
capacity  for  gratitude. 

So  I  gave  the  order,  "Cease  firing!"  I 
gave  it  against  the  advice  of  more  than  one 
of  my  lieutenants,  whose  prophecies  have 
been  woven  true  in  the  warp  and  woof  of 
time.  But  I  was  ever  arbiter  of  my  own 
destinies,  and  I  gave  the  order. 

The  battle  ceased.  There  was  silence  on 
the  firing  line.  The  opposing  armies,  although 
they  did  not  fraternize,  at  least  ignored  each 
other  as  the  sentries  passed. 

"I  shall  rest  on  my  arms,"  I  said,  "ready 
to  renew  the  fight  whenever  the  other  side 
is  ready.  In  the  meantime  it  is  understood 
that  I  reserve  all  rights  of  criticism,  but  will 
not  again  attack  Lawson  on  the  ground  of 
what  is  past.  If  he  will  cease  his  former 
practices,  as  he  promises,  I  will  not  interfere 
with  him  or  use  what  he  has  done  to  prevent 
him  doing  a  legitimate  and  proper  business. 
He  has  until  his  return  from  Europe  to  decide 

17 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

whether  the  truce,  on  these  terms,  shall  be 
permanent  or  not." 

He  returned.  He  sent  word  to  me  that  the 
truce  on  my  terms  was  to  be  permanent. 
I  disbanded  my  army. 

I  look  about  me  to-day  with  sadness. 
Gone  are  the  great  offices.  Gone  are  the 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  that  lay 
upon  the  desk  on  that  conference  day.  Gone 
is  the  splendor  of  my  home  life — all  the 
material  things  that  marked  business  success. 

I  shall  have  them  again,  for  God  reigns 
and  the  investors  of  America  know  a  man 
from  a  snake.  But  what  a  pity  I  didn't 
stamp  when  the  venomous  head  of  the  serpent 
was  under  my  heel! 


18 


Chapter  III 
RED  HILLS,  FAREWELL 

IN  STRIKING  contrast  to  that  picture 
of  power,  and  authority,  and  moving 
machinery  of  business  life,  there  comes 
to  my  mind  another  picture.  It  is  an  old 
picture,  now,  for  it  was  first  imprinted  on 
my  retina  more  than  thirty  years  ago.  But 
it  is  a  picture  that  can  no  more  fade  than  can 
the  summer  sunlight  fade  forever,  departing 
with  the  shades  of  falling  night  never  to  come 
again. 

Look  into  the  frame  with  me.  The  view 
has  a  place  here,  for  all  that  I  have  done  and 
all  I  shall  ever  do  are  influenced  by  this  scene. 

Can  you  see  with  me  a  little  Southern 
mill  village,  sparkling  in  the  light  of  a  newly 
risen  sun?  It  is  far  back  in  the  Red  Hills 
of  North  Carolina,  four  miles  from  any 
railroad,  four  miles  from  the  next  nearest 
village  or  hamlet,  four  miles  from  a  church. 
One  winding  street  lies  dustily  silent,  soon 
to  burn  in  the  warm,  North  Carolina  sun- 
shine.    The  River  Haw.  pent  up  by  a   dam 

19 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

which  seemed  to  us  boys  providentially  pro- 
vided to  make  a  "swimmin'  hole,"  twists 
lazily  around  the  hills  above  the  town  and  just 
below  the  dam  roars  through  a  millraee  to  turn 
the  spindles  of  a  cotton  mill. 

Along  the  street  sit  the  cottages  of  the  mill 
people,  neat,  clean  and  well-cared-for,  for 
Swepsonville,  North  Carolina,  was  a  model  mill 
town  in  the  late  seventies,  even  as  it  is  to-day. 

You  can  see  my  home  there.  It  is  the  largest 
of  the  cottages,  larger  not  from  any  pomp  of 
circumstances,  but  because  my  mother,  hus- 
bandless  and  with  nine  children,  must  fain  eke 
out  a  livelihood  by  taking  boarders  among  the 
mill  operatives.  And  you  can  see  mother, 
standing  at  the  gate,  shading  her  eyes  from  the 
fast-rising  sun  and  watching  me  as  I  turn  the 
corner,  climb  the  hill  to  the  high  bridge,  and 
pass  across  to  the  other  side. 

I  am  going  away,  out  into  the  world  to  seek 
fame  and  fortune.  All  my  belongings  are  in  an 
old-fashioned  carpet-bag — even  to  my  one  pair 
of  shoes.  I  am  barefooted,  clad  in  jeans,  a 
gawky,  spindly,  mop-haired  boy  of  twelve. 
Only  twelve,  and  going  away  to  wrest  a  for- 
tune from  the  great  world  of  which  I  know 
nothing,  not  even  that  it  is  uniformly  cruel. 

20 


RED  HILLS,  FAREWELL 

Mother  has  just  said  good-bye  at  the  gate. 
She  tried  hard  not  to  cry,  I  know,  although  the 
effort  was  not  very  successful.  I  told  her  she 
would  hear  from  me  often — that  I  couldn't 
help  but  succeed — and  that  she  should  receive 
every  week  all  the  money  I  could  send.  She 
said,  "  God  bless  you,  boy.  Be  careful  of  your- 
self. Be  a  good  boy.  Remember  all  I've 
ever  taught  you.     Good-bye. " 

I  am  leaving  the  little  village,  never  to  return 
except  on  a  visit.  I  am  not  as  regretful  as  I 
ought  to  be,  for  the  great,  wide  world,  with  all 
its  allurements,  stretches  out  before  me.  I  do 
not  appreciate  as  well  as  I  might  the  good 
friends  I  am  leaving  behind — the  helpful  spirit 
of  the  place — the  innate  kindness  of  all  the 
people. 

As  I  pass  the  old  saw-mill  through  whose 
doors,  of  pleasant  afternoons,  I  have  watched 
the  great  logs  being  sawn,  and  in  whose  roomy 
depths  I  have  each  week  attended  Sunday 
school  or  listened  to  the  texts  of  some  itiner- 
ant preacher,  for  there  was  no  church  in  the 
village,  I  think  but  little  of  the  days  that  have 
passed  there — the  boyhood  days  that  will  never 
come  again.  Those  thoughts  are  reserved  for 
later  years. 

21 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

I  trudge  across  the  bridge  and  up  the  other 
side  of  the  river  by  the  big  dam.  The  river  is 
roaring  as  of  old,  but  there  is  no  mill  there. 
No  busy  clack  of  spindles  will  resound  across 
the  water  to-day,  nor  for  many  a  day  to  come, 
for  the  big  mill  lies  in  a*shes.  It  is  because  of 
that  calamity  to  Swepsonville  that  our  family 
has  been  broken  up  and  I  must  go  away  to 
earn  my  living  beyond  the  home  roof. 

Just  by  the  old  swimming  hole  there  is  a 
bend  in  the  road  and  I  turn  and  look  across  the 
glistening  waves  to  where  our  house  sits  near 
the  river.  Mother  still  stands  at  the  gate. 
She  waves  her  apron.  I  wave  my  hand  and 
turn  from  her  sight. 

Perhaps  she  calls  to  me  again.  I  know  not. 
If  she  does  her  words  are  a  repetition  of  those 
she  spoke  when  I  left  the  door,  and  which  still 
echo  in  my  ears:  "Be  a  good  boy.  Remem- 
ber all  I've  taught  you.     Good-bye." 

I  have  remembered.  She  taught  me  to  be 
fair,  and  just,  and  honest  and  true;  to  fear 
nothing  but  wrong  and  never  question  the 
right.  Out  into  a  strange  and  hostile  world  I 
went,  a  barefoot  lad  of  twelve.  I  have  never 
forgotten.  I  have  never  given  her  cause  to  be 
ashamed  of  me. 

22 


Chapter  IV 
BRICKS  WITHOUT  STRAW 

HOW  I  have  lived  my  life  is  known  of 
many  men.  How  I  have  fought  up- 
ward from  obscurity  to  a  command- 
ing place  in  the  world  of  finance  as  it  has  to  do 
with  investments,  how  I  have  battled  for  cer- 
tain distinct  and — until  I  advanced  them — 
unheard  of  principles,  how  I  have  succeeded  in 
the  main  although  not  without  bitter  reverses 
— not  the  least  of  which  is  my  recent  one,  when 
I  lost  fortune  and  business  and  narrowly 
escaped  losing  reason,  life  and  reputation  as 
well — is  history. 

Men  do  not  know,  however,  how  it  came 
about  that  from  my  earliest  days  I  was  a 
deadly  foe  to  speculation  and  market  manip- 
ulation. It  has  been  a  personal  matter  and 
I  have  never  told  it,  until  now.  It  seems  to  me 
to  be  so  inseparably  linked  with  my  later  life  as 
to  be  worth  the  telling  at  this  time  in  order  to 
make  clearer  my  life-long  position  on  this 
matter  of  stock  gambling. 

It  is  a  story  that  goes  back  to  my  babyhood. 

23 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

To  tell  it  it  is  necessary  that  I  make  reference 
to  one  or  two  personal  family  matters,  dating 
back  to  the  time  of  the  Civil  War. 

It  is  a  matter  of  history  in  Rockingham 
County,  North  Carolina,  where  I  was  born, 
that  the  families  of  my  father  and  mother  had 
been  among  the  largest  plantation  owners  in 
the  county  before  the  great  conflict.  My 
father  owned  many  slaves.  My  mother — a 
widow  when  he  married  her — was  also  a  slave- 
holder of  substance. 

Both  were  wealthy  and  prosperous,  as  wealth 
and  prosperity  were  reckoned  in  those  days,  at 
the  time  of  their  union.     Then  came  the  war. 

It  was  my  father's  oft-repeated  boast  that  no 
slave  of  his  should  ever  be  freed  by  cannon. 
When,  some  months  before  the  surrender  of 
Lee  at  Appomattox  Court  House,  he  made  up 
his  mind  that  the  cause  of  the  Southern  Con- 
federacy was  lost,  he  made  his  boast  good. 
Marshalling  his  slaves,  men,  women  and 
children,  into  companies — their  total  was  sixty- 
seven — he  marched  them  to  Went  worth,  the 
county  seat,  where  he  lined  them  up  before  the 
court  house  and,  in  the  presence  of  many 
witnesses,  drew  up  the  papers  that  set  them  all 
free. 

24 


BRICKS  WITHOUT  STRAW 

Then,  standing  on  the  court-house  steps,  he 
made  his  former  bondmen  a  speech  that  is  a 
tradition  to-day  in  the  county,  in  which  he 
related  to  them  the  changed  conditions  and 
asked  them  all  to  return  to  work  for  him  on  the 
plantation  at  wages.  Therefore  it  came  about 
that  at  the  end  of  the  war  he  had  workmen  on 
his  plantation  and,  by  comparison  with  some 
of  his  impoverished  neighbors,  was  quite  com- 
fortable. He  succeeded  to  a  degree  in  over- 
coming the  effects  of  the  devastations  of  war 
and  reconstruction  and  when  he  died,  a  few 
years  after  Lee's  surrender,  his  mind  was 
peaceful  in  the  assurance  that  he  had  left  my 
mother  and  the  nine  children  not  wealthy,  to 
be  sure,  but  very  comfortably  provided  for. 

As  administrator  of  my  father's  estate  was 
named  James  W.  Reid,  a  leading  citizen  of 
Rockingham  County,  and  an  intimate  friend  of 
the  family.  He  was  a  member  of  Congress 
from  that  district.  His  brother  was  the 
Methodist  Episcopal  presiding  elder  in  that 
section.  He  was  himself  regarded  as  one  of 
the  most  brilliant,  able,  honest  and  promising 
lawyers  in  that  part  of  the  state. 

My  mother  trusted  him  implicitly  in  the 
settlement     of     my     father's     estate.     Much 

25 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

readjustment  was  necessary  after  the  waste 
of  the  war,  and  there  came  a  time  when  Mr. 
Reid  suggested  that  in  order  to  discharge  such 
obligations  as  existed  and  clear  certain  titles 
to  some  of  the  estates  it  would  be  well  to  sell  a 
portion  of  the  lands.  On  the  whole,  he 
believed  it  would  be  well  to  sell  the  entire 
plantation.  This,  he  explained,  was  largely  a 
matter  of  form  and  he  showed  her  how  she 
would  benefit  from  the  transaction  and  be 
much  better  off  after  it  had  been  made  than 
before. 

My  mother  signed  such  papers  as  James  W. 
Reid  directed.  The  plantation  was  sold  and 
the  money  turned  over  to  him.  He  held  in  his 
possession  every  cent  of  my  mother's  fortune — 
every  cent  that  stood  between  her  and  penury. 
And  she  had  nine  children. 

Then  James  W.  Reid  went  away,  a  de- 
faulter. He  deserted  his  wife  and  children. 
He  deserted  his  seat  in  Congress.  He  de- 
serted his  church,  of  which  he  was  a  prominent 
and  respected  member.  And  with  him  went 
every  dollar  my  mother  had  in  the  world. 

Sixty  miles  to  the  eastward  was  the  little 
town  of  Swepsonville,  in  Alamance  County — a 
Southern  cotton-mill  town.     Mother  was  forced 

26 


BRICKS  WITHOUT  STRAW 

to  go  there,  that  the  older  children  might  work. 
She  helped  keep  the  family  purse  filled  by 
taking  boarders.  We  all  worked  as  soon  as  we 
were  able.     I  was  a  bobbin  boy  at  ten. 

There  were  four  hundred  hands  in  the  mill, 
which  was  a  three-story  frame  structure,  and  it 
ran  night  and  day  with  two  shifts.  Its 
machinery  was  idle  only  from  midnight  Satur- 
day night  to  midnight  Sunday  night.  I  was 
in  the  night  shift.  As  I  remember  it,  it  did  not 
seem  to  be  especially  unpleasant.  I  recall  but 
one  painful  incident — being  knocked  across 
the  room  by  a  cruel  overseer  who  found  me 
asleep  one  night  when  I  should  have  been  at 
work. 

We  had  religious  services  every  Sunday  in 
the  saw-mill,  Sunday  school  and  occasional 
sermons  from  a  Baptist  preacher  who  came 
from  the  next  town  and  preached  for  what  he 
could  raise  in  the  collection  box.  We  had 
singing  lessons  weekly.  This  was  about  the 
limit  of  our  diversions. 

They  were  good  people  in  that  town. 
Everybody  was  kind  and  generous.  Every- 
body was  hard-working.  I  think  everybody 
was  religious.  The  favorite  tune  sung  or 
whistled   was   "In  the   Sweet    Bye-and-Bye. " 

27 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

I  have  sometimes  wondered,  since  I  grew  up,  it 
that  was  because  they  had  very  little  to  look 
forward  to  in  this  life. 

Then  came  Swepsonville's  calamity.  The 
entire  population,  aroused  by  the  loud  clang  of 
the  bell  on  the  hill,  went  up  one  night  and  stood 
in  horror,  watching  the  mill  burn  to  the  ground. 

George  W.  Swepson,  of  Raleigh,  the  owner 
of  the  mill,  was  in  town.  I  knew  him  quite 
well,  for  he  boarded  at  our  house  when  he  was 
in  Swepsonville,  and  I  want  to  depart  from  the 
thread  of  my  story  just  long  enough  to  pay  his 
memory  a  warm  personal  tribute.  He  was  a 
good  man,  a  strong  man,  a  Southern  gentle- 
man. He  appreciated  the  humanity  of  his 
employees  and  was  interested  in  them  person- 
ally. There  was  none  of  the  soulless  magnate 
about  him.  The  people  in  his  town  admired 
him,  respected  him  and  loved  him. 

I  worked  my  way  through  the  crowd,  at 
eleven  or  twelve  o'clock  that  night,  and  stood 
beside  George  W.  Swepson.  Then  and  there 
I  received  my  first  lesson  in  bearing  up  under 
adversity,  in  turning  defeat  into  victory. 
Standing  there  in  the  glare  of  the  burning  mill, 
which  meant  a  terrible  loss  to  him,  Mr.  Swep- 
son made  a  drawing  for  the  new  mill  which 

28 


BRICKS  WITHOUT  STRAW 

should  be  erected  upon  its  ashes,  and  while  the 
sparks  were  still  shooting  heavenward  he  gave 
orders  to  his  general  superintendent,  Monroe 
Cooke,  to  order  the  materials  from  which  the 
next  structure,  to  be  of  brick,  should  be 
constructed. 

This  was  on  Thursday  or  Friday,  and  on 
Monday  morning  the  brick  yard  was  started. 
Left  without  a  position  by  the  destruction  of 
the  mill,  I  applied  for  work  at  the  kilns  and  was 
given  a  place  as  brick  bearer,  at  twenty-five 
cents  a  day. 

For  some  weeks  I  bore  brick  from  the 
molders  to  the  sun-drying  places.  I  earned  a 
dollar  and  a  half  a  week  and  turned  it  over  to 
my  mother.  Then  there  came  a  day  when  she 
realized  that  the  family  was  not  earning 
enough  to  support  itself.  Some  of  us  must  go 
away  from  home,  out  into  the  world  where 
wages  were  higher  and  opportunities  greater. 
I  was  one  of  those  to  go  and  with  four  dollars 
in  my  pocket  and  my  shoes  in  my  carpet-bag 
I  crossed  the  high  bridge  and  struck  out  for 
the  railroad  and  that  fortune  I  never  doubted 
I  should  some  day  have. 

These  days  of  hardship  and  toil,  my  experi- 
ences as  a  bobbin  boy  and  later  as  a  brick 

29 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

bearer,  my  brothers'  work  in  the  mill  and 
finally  the  breaking  up  of  our  family  and  its 
scattering  to  the  four  winds  of  heaven,  were 
all  due  to  the  defalcation  and  absconding  of 
James  W.  Reid. 

When  I  tell  you  why  he  absconded  you  will 
understand  something  of  my  attitude  regard- 
ing gambling  in  the  stock  market  during  all 
these  years. 

James  W.  Reid  fled,  a  ruined  man,  because 
he  had  lost  his  own  fortune  and  money  en- 
trusted to  him — had  lost  it  by  speculating  in 
stocks  on  margin. 

In  those  days  I  did  not  know  what  it  meant. 
I  could  not  understand  it.  I  thought  that  per- 
haps a  highwayman  had  come  upon  him  in  the 
night  and  robbed  him.  It  was  all  such  a 
mystery  to  me.  But  throughout  the  years  as 
I  grew  from  boyhood  into  manhood  the  story 
rang  and  echoed  in  my  ears:  "James  W. 
Reid  went  away  because  he  lost  his  own 
fortune  and  the  fortune  of  my  mother  by 
speculating  in  stocks  on  margin." 

Just  when  I  came  to  realize  its  full  meaning 
I  do  not  know,  and  neither  do  I  know  when 
there  first  came  over  me  a  feeling  of  abhorrence 
against  stock  speculation.     From  the  begin- 

30 


BRICKS  WITHOUT  STRAW 

ning  it  has  been  a  part  of  my  life,  the  same  as 
if  it  were  born  with  me  and  always  mingled 
with  my  life-blood.  Early  I  felt  its  sting. 
Early  I  tasted  its  poison. 


31 


Chapter  V 
THE  SILVER  TONGUE  OF  IDAHO 

ALTHOUGH,  chronologically,  it  be- 
longs much  farther  along  in  this  book, 
this  seems  to  me  a  proper  time  to 
write  of  a  happening  in  which  I  participated 
fully  a  quarter  of  a  century  after  the  burning  of 
the  Swepsonville  cotton  mill. 

Eight  years  ago,  in  the  fall  of  1900,  I  was 
in  the  West  on  a  business  trip.  Matters  called 
me  to  Payette,  in  the  beautiful  Payette  Valley, 
Idaho,  and  to  the  office  of  President  Moss  of 
the  First  National  Bank  of  that  city.  Our 
business  finished,  our  talk  drifted  to  politics. 

Mr.  Moss  informed  me  that  in  the  preceding 
year  he  had  been  the  Republican  candidate 
for  governor  of  Idaho  and  had  been  defeated. 

"And  there  was  only  one  cause  for  my  de- 
feat," he  said.  "Early  in  the  campaign  my 
success  seemed  certain.  I  should  assuredly 
have  won  but  for  the  fact  that  the  Democratic 
party  reinforced  their  candidate  by  putting  on 
the  stump  against  me  the  most  brilliant  orator 
it  has  ever  been  my  ill  fortune  to  combat.     I 

32 


THE  SILVER  TONGUE  OF  IDAHO 

was  defeated  by  eloquence.  I  tell  you  that  man 
Reid  is  certainly  entitled  to  the  name  they  give 
him — 'the  silver-tongued  orator  of  Idaho.' 

"Reid,   you    say  his    name   is?"    I    asked. 

"Yes.     James  W.  Reid." 

"How  long  has  he  lived  in  Idaho?"  I 
asked,  impressed  with  the  similarity  in  the 
name. 

"About  twenty-five  years,"  replied  Mr. 
Moss.  "He  came  here  in  the  seventies,  from 
somewhere  down  South." 

Two  or  three  more  questions  and  answers, 
and  what  I  learned,  added  to  a  vague,  unde- 
fined rumor  of  a  score  of  years  before  that 
some  one  had  seen  the  missing  North  Carolin- 
ian in  the  then  territory  of  Idaho,  convinced 
me  that  at  last  there  had  come  to  me  the 
opportunity  to  meet  face  to  face  the  man  to 
whose  going  wrong  I  could  lay  all  those 
privations  and  struggles  of  my  early  life. 

I  closed  my  conversation  with  Mr.  Moss  and 
returned  to  my  hotel.  There  I  sat  down  to 
decide  how  to  approach  this  man  Reid,  what  to 
say  to  him  and  how  to  say  it. 

For  years  I  had  looked  forward  to  this 
moment,  although  I  never  expected  to  see  it. 
Awake  and  asleep  I  had  dreamed  of  what  I 

33 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

should  say  should  James  W.  Reid  and  I  ever 
meet  face  to  face — and  what  I  should  do. 

In  the  privacy  of  my  room  I  sat  down  to 
think  it  out.  Through  my  mind  there  flashed, 
one  after  the  other,  with  the  clearness  of  a 
perfect  moving-picture  machine,  a  series  of 
scenes.  I  saw  the  broad  plantation  in  Rock- 
ingham County — the  plantation  of  whose 
luxuries  I  remembered  but  little — its  many 
acres  shining  in  the  Southern  sun.  I  saw  the 
little,  simple  mill  village  with  its  humble 
cottages  and  its  kindly  people.  I  saw  my 
mother,  happy  and  almost  carefree  on  her 
fair  estates,  and  later  I  saw  her,  bowed  and 
weary,  struggling  to  care  for  the  family  in 
Swepsonville,  putting  her  children  to  work 
when  they  should  have  been  imbibing  knowl- 
edge of  books,  toiling  about  the  house  herself 
when  she  should  have  had  rest  and  peace  after 
the  trouble  she  had  undergone. 

I  saw  my  brothers,  working  their  twelve- 
hour  shifts  in  the  mill.  I  saw  myself,  a  little 
bobbin  boy,  forced  to  labor  when  I  should 
have  been  at  school  or  at  play.  I  remembered 
the  pain  of  that  night  when  the  harsh  overseer 
cuffed  me.  I  remembered  the  hours  of  vain, 
childish  regret  that  we  were  poor. 

34 


THE  SILVER  TONGUE  OF  IDAHO 

I  saw  again  on  memory's  picture  screen  the 
burning  mill,  the  glare  lighting  the  heavens 
for  miles  around,  its  reflection  falling  on  the 
white  faces  of  the  hundreds  whom  the  flames 
were  putting  out  of  employment.  I  saw  the 
new-made  brick  yard.  I  renewed,  in  mind, 
the  toil  of  those  weeks  when,  for  twenty- 
five  cents  a  day,  I  bore  bricks  for  the  kiln 
workers. 

The  picture  changed  and  I  saw  myself 
forced  to  leave  my  home  and  all  the  loved  ones, 
trudging  along  the  dusty  road  and  across  the 
high  bridge  to  the  river  bank  by  the  old  swim- 
ming hole.  I  saw  my  mother  standing  there 
at  the  door,  waving  her  apron  and  bidding  me 
God-speed.  I  reviewed  in  memory  the  hard, 
bitter  days  that  had  followed — the  long  years 
during  which  I  learned  something  of  the  hard- 
ness of  a  selfish  world. 

More  than  once  I  sprang  to  my  feet,  deter- 
mined to  go  at  once  to  find  the  man  to  whom 
I  felt  I  could  credit  all  the  painful  portions  of 
these  pictures — to  accuse  him,  with  overflowing 
words,  of  all  our  wrongs — to  wreak  a  personal 
and  physical  vengeance  upon  him  for  what  we 
had  undergone. 

For  hours  I  battled  with  myself,  and  then — 

35 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

I  left  the  city  and  never  saw  him.  For  be- 
neath  all  the  desire  for  personal  revenge, 
beneath  all  the  loud  outcry  of  my  soul  for  pun- 
ishment upon  this  man  whose  flight  had 
brought  ruin  to  my  family,  there  spoke  the 
sense  of  justice,  which  said: 

"This  man  was  but  the  product  of  a  system. 
He  sinned,  not  because  he  was  inherently  bad, 
not  because  he  wished  to  sin,  but  because  he 
was  tempted  to  speculate  and  because  specu- 
lation is  a  plague  against  which  there  is  no 
preventive  virus.  If  I  punish  Reid  I  but 
punish  an  effect  and  not  the  cause.  I  will 
keep  on  as  I  have  begun,  fighting  the  broader 
evil.  I  will  oppose  speculation  upon  margins 
until  I  have  done  at  least  a  man's  share  toward 
securing  its  certain  ultimate  abolition.  The 
man  whom  I  need  to  seek  is  the  man  who  in- 
duced this  silver-tongued  orator  to  risk  the 
money  of  others  in  a  gambling  game.  To 
accuse,  browbeat,  threaten  or  assault  one  man 
is  to  lose  sight  of  the  breadth  and  importance 
of  the  battle.  It  is  the  system  that  should  be 
fought.  And  I  am  more  resolved  than  ever  to 
fight  it." 

So  far  as  I  am  aware,  the  silver-tongued 
orator  of  Idaho  never  knew  that  I  existed. 

36 


Chapter  VI 
CLIMBING 

AND  NOW,  following  that  sunny  morn- 
ing when  I  bade  farewell  to  winding, 
dusty  street,  and  placid,  glistening 
swimming  hole,  come  twenty  years  of  climb- 
ing. The  memories  of  that  score  of  years  are 
memories  of  hard,  unceasing  effort.  They  are 
memories  of  mingled  encouragement  and  dis- 
couragement, with  the  first  always  a  little 
over-balancing  the  second. 

Fate,  seizing  me  from  the  beginning  by  the 
hand,  led  me  into  the  not  always  smooth  paths 
of  being  a  book  agent. 

It  was  hard  work,  the  hardest  kind  of  hard 
work.  Many  a  day  I  have  tramped  the 
country  roads  and  lanes  from  sunrise  until 
sunset  without  making  a  solitary  sale.  Many 
a  time  I  have  wearily  walked  back  and  forth 
across  a  field,  at  the  elbow  of  a  farmer  who 
followed  the  plough  or  harrow,  enlarging  on 
the  merits  of  a  twenty-five  cent  hymn  book, 
the  profit  from  whose  sale  would  enrich  me  by 
the  sum  total  of  six  cents. 

37 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

I  was  a  book  agent  until  I  was  seventeen 
years  old. 

In  this  routine  of  canvassing,  when  my  daily 
bread  literally  depended  upon  my  ability  to 
make  sales,  I  broadened  and  grew.  I  learned 
many  things  that  proved  valuable  in  the  later 
days  when  I  had  become  a  man  of  affairs.  I 
learned  how  to  sell  goods.  I  learned  how  to 
surmount  obstacles.  I  learned  the  art  of 
stick-to-it-iveness.  Most  important  of  all,  I 
became,  as  all  salesmen  must,  a  close  student 
of  human  nature. 

Early  in  the  work  I  came  to  appreciate  the 
fact  that  the  most  successful  salesman,  in  the 
long  run,  is  not  the  man  who  forces  his  cus- 
tomers to  buy  something  they  do  not  want, 
but  he  who  studies  their  requirements,  finds 
out  just  what  they  do  want,  and  then  sells  it  to 
them  at  a  fair  price. 

In  the  drift  of  time  I  ceased  selling  books 
and  became  canvasser  for  a  weekly  news- 
paper whose  name  is  now  forgotten  except 
by  those  who  worked  upon  it.  Then  I  was 
made  editor  and  publisher  of  a  weekly  so 
small  and  obscure  that  only  a  lad  unused  to 
steady  income,  but  filled  with  the  desire  to 
advance — to    climb    upward — to    add    to    his 

38 


CLIMBING 

experience — could  have  been  induced  to  accept 
the  position.  From  this  I  graduated  into  a 
general  news  correspondent,  covering  a  con- 
siderable section  of  North  Carolina  for  many 
city  newspapers  of  the  North,  East  and  West. 

I  began  to  get  my  grip.  I  was  a  man  in 
stature  by  this  time — almost  a  man  in  mind. 
I  became  a  reporter  on  a  daily  newspaper  at 
Charlotte,  and  from  that  place  graduated  into 
writing  industrial  reviews  for  various  Southern 
publications,  which  included  such  important 
newspapers  as  the  Atlanta  Constitution  and 
the  Atlanta  Journal. 

The  years  passed.  The  climbing  was  slow, 
but  it  seemed  sure.  I  joined  the  regular  staff 
of  the  Atlanta  Journal  and  worked  there  five 
years.  I  went  to  the  St.  Louis  Republic,  where 
I  did  special  industrial  work.  From  that 
paper  I  went  to  the  St.  Louis  Chronicle.  I 
came  to  Boston,  doing  feature  work  for  the 
Boston  Traveler  for  two  years.  A  syndicate 
of  New  England  papers  was  formed,  headed  by 
the  Traveler,  and  I  did  industrial  work  for  it. 
It  was  now  1899,  twenty  years  from  that  bare- 
footed day  of  departure  from  Swepsonville, 
and  I  started  into  business  for  myself  for  the 
first  time. 

39 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR   CANDLES 

I  organized  a  syndicate  of  big  Eastern  papers, 
headed  by  the  New  York  Sun,  and  under  the 
name  of  the  "Great  Eastern  Newspaper 
League"  conducted  a  campaign  for  Western 
advertising  that  paid  me  a  profit  of  several 
thousand  dollars.  This  was  the  first  real 
start — the  time  I  had  been  wrorking  and  wait- 
ing for  so  many  years.  With  this  capital, 
sufficient  to  provide  against  the  immediate 
demands  for  sustenance,  I  determined  to  con- 
tinue in  business  for  myself — to  work  no  longer 
for  others. 

Looking  carefully  about  me,  I  came  to 
believe  that  in  the  great  Lone  Star  State  of 
Texas  was  a  field  for  opportunity.  I  learned 
of  a  proven  oil  territory  sufficiently  far  from  a 
railroad  not  to  have  been  exploited  or  de- 
veloped. After  long  negotiations  I  arranged 
for  the  purchase  of  this  property  if  I  could 
organize  the  necessary  syndicate  or  corpora- 
tion to  provide  the  money.  I  began  to  set  be- 
fore the  people  of  many  sections  of  the  country, 
by  extensive  advertising,  the  claims  of  this 
Texas  property  for  consideration.  I  formed  a 
company,  selling  the  stock  at  a  reasonable 
price. 

The    plan    was    successful,    and   then    and 

40 


CLIMBING 

there  sprang  into  being  the  King-Crowther 
Corporation. 

No  corporation  in  all  the  United  States,  I 
suppose,  has  been  made  the  object  of  more 
vindictive  and  continued  attacks  than  this  one. 
For  some  reason — I  suppose  because  it  was 
the  first  corporation  that  I  ever  organized  and 
the  only  one  that  bore  my  name — my  enemies 
have  ever  selected  it  as  the  target  of  their  most 
bitter  attacks.  The  answer  to  those  attacks 
is  that  it  has  lived,  thrived  and  is  to-day  a 
great,  powerful,  profitable  company.  I  do 
not  need  to  defend  the  King-Crowther  Cor- 
poration here.  Its  history,  and  the  position  it 
occupies  to-day  notwithstanding  the  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  dollars  that  have  been 
expended  in  a  vain  attempt  to  injure  it,  are  all 
the  defense  that  is  necessary 

Hardly  had  the  King-Crowther  Corporation 
become  fairly  organized  and  its  activities  begun 
to  attract  attention  when  it  came  upon  days  of 
trouble.  In  Texas,  as  in  other  states  of  the 
union,  there  are  politicians,  and  not  all  of  them 
— also  as  in  other  states — are  honest.  Also,  in 
my  employ,  as  in  the  employ  of  most  other 
men,  were  individuals  whose  interests,  instead 
of  running  harmoniously  with  mine,  were  con- 

41 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

fined  to  that  process  commonly  known  as 
"feathering  their  own  nests."  The  combina- 
tion brought  difficulties. 

It  is  not  my  purpose  in  this  book  to  go  at  all 
into  the  details  of  the  King-Crowther  troubles 
of  1903.  They  had  nothing  to  do,  as  had  the 
later  attacks  upon  the  company,  with  the  con- 
spiracy to  put  me  out  of  business  because  I  was 
interfering  with  the  robbery  of  investors  by  the 
conspirators.  They  were  the  outgrowth  of  a 
sordid  desire  for  loot  on  the  part  of  petty  politi- 
cal thieves  and  disreputable  blackmailers. 

A  wave  of  anti-corporation  feeling  in  Texas 
was  taken  advantage  of  by  certain  politicians 
to  inaugurate  a  system  of  "holding  up"  many 
corporations,  the  King-Crowther  among  them. 
At  a  moment  when  everything  looked  rosy  for 
a  smooth  and  successful  path  for  this  company 
I  was  confronted  with  a  demand  for  a  vast  sum 
of  money  to  be  paid  to  certain  individuals  as 
the  price  of  allowing  King-Crowther  to  do 
business  in  Texas.  Even  had  I  possessed  the 
amount  of  money  demanded,  I  should  have 
refused  it.  I  believed  that  it  was  beyond  the 
power  of  the  blackmailers  to  make  good  their 
threats.  I  had  at  that  time  less  knowledge 
of  ways  that  are  dark  than  I  have  now. 

42 


CLIMBING 

They  gave  me  several  chances  to  save 
trouble  by  paying  toll.  When  I  persistently 
and  indignantly  refused,  King-Crowther  met 
the  fate  of  four  hundred  and  forty-three  other 
Texas  corporations  in  that  year — its  charter 
was  revoked  and  the  price  of  the  stock,  from 
one  dollar  a  share,  dropped  to  two  cents. 

In  the  fight  that  ensued  I  lost  a  comfortable 
fortune  and  went  heavily  into  debt.  But  when 
the  battle  was  over,  the  King-Crowther  Cor- 
poration had  been  reorganized  on  a  hundred- 
dollar-a-share  (par  value)  basis,  and  its  stock, 
from  its  low  price  of  two  dollars,  was  beginning 
its  giadual  and  steady  increase  in  value  until, 
at  high-water  mark  before  the  panic  of  last 
year,  it  stood  at  par — one  hundred  dollars  per 

share. 

During  this  struggle  I  had  taken  another 
start.  Although  my  resources  were  exhausted 
and  1  was  even  poorer  than  on  that  day  when  I 
set  out  from  the  North  Carolina  village  to  make 
my  fortune,  I  had  learned  many  things.  With- 
out wasting  time  in  fruitless  regrets,  I  set  out — 
even  as  I  am  setting  out  to-day— to  build  up 

again. 

I  entered  into  business  as  a  financial  agent, 
offering  to  my  friends  and  clients  securities  of 

43 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

whose  worth  I  felt  confident,  at  a  price  that  I 
believed  to  be  fair  and  just.  Slowly  but 
surely  I  re-established  myself.  From  one 
small  room  my  office  grew  to  two,  to  four,  to 
half  a  floor,  to  an  entire  floor,  to  a  floor  and  a 
half  of  a  great  office  building.  From  one 
stenographer  my  staff  grew  until  it  consisted 
of  upwards  of  a  score  of  people,  some  of  them 
the  highest  salaried  and  most  competent 
in  the  country.  From  an  almost  unknown 
"promoter"  of  an  unknown  corporation  I 
became  owner  of  a  business  which  had  upon 
its  books  more  than  five  thousand  satisfied 
customers.  As  these  made  money  by  follow- 
ing my  advice  and  example,  I  too  made 
money.  I  became  prosperous  and  was  jogging 
along  the  road  to  wealth. 

Had  I  never  ascended  to  these  heights  I  had 
not  been  the  target  for  the  vindictive,  the 
jealous  and  the  disappointed.  Had  1  never 
gained  success  I  had  not  been  the  shining 
mark  for  the  shafts  of  the  unsuccessful. 

But  the  jealous,  the  disappointed  and  the 
unsuccessful  could  never  have  seriously 
affected  my  progress.  It  remained  for  the 
successful  one  to  do  it — the  one  successful  in 
inducing  men  to  speculate  in  his  schemes  under 

44 


CLIMBING 

the  delusion  that  they  were  investing — the  one 
who  had  become  a  millionaire  by  grace  of  the 
misguided,  blind  following  of  his  siren  voice  on 
the  part  of  thousands  of  deceived  victims — the 
one  who,  wont  to  lure  his  victims  on  the  rocks 
of  ruin  at  his  own  sweet  pleasure,  resented  the 
warnings  that  in  the  course  of  my  daily  duty  I 
sounded  against  him  and  all  other  wreckers. 

I  suppose  it  was  natural  that  he  should  have 
set  out  to  encompass  my  destruction — as 
natural  as  for  the  similar  ones  who  light  false 
beacons  to  lure  ships  on  the  rocks  to  protest 
against  the  setting  up  of  lighthouses  on  the 
shoals.  It  would  be  too  much  to  expect  that 
he  should  approve  of  my  frankness  in  warning 
the  investing  public  of  the  shallow  water  into 
which,  unwarned  and  unguided,  they  might 
have  sailed  their  ships,  for 

No  man  e'er  felt  the  halter  draw, 
With  good  opinion  of  the  law. 

So  after  a  time  I  achieved  success — real, 
genuine  success.  It  had  been  a  long,  toil- 
some upward  climb,  but  it  was  finished.  My 
business  was  a  synonym  for  enterprise. 
My  name  was  the  equivalent  of  fair  dealing. 
My  house,  already  large,  was  growing  rapidly. 

45 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

My  customers,  already  numbering  thousands, 
were  multiplying. 

Then,  like  lightning  out  of  a  clear  sky, 
lightning  whose  danger  cannot  be  avoided 
because  one  cannot  see  the  cloud  that  en- 
genders it,  came  the  beginning  of  the  long 
series  of  attacks  that  in  the  end,  because  I 
withheld  my  hand  in  one  moment  of  pity,  were 
temporarily  successful. 


46 


Chapter  VII 
THAT  IS  FINANCE 

IN  MY  early  days  I  had  all  the  country- 
man's awe  of  a  "banker  and  broker." 
The  words  meant  to  me  everything 
that  was  dignified,  creditable  and  'respect- 
able." Until  I  had  been  for  many  months  out 
in  the  world — it  was  not  until  I  had  reached 
man's  estate — I  had  no  comprehension  of  the 
ethics,  or  lack  of  them,  that  govern  so  many 
whose  ground-glass  doors  bear  these  words. 

Like  the  vast  majority  of,people,  I  under- 
stood just  a  little  about  markets,  and  stock, 
and  fluctuations.  If  ever  a  little  knowledge  is 
a  dangerous  thing,  it  is  in  this  connection  of 
finance.  I  knew  that  the  stock  exchange  is  a 
place  where  men  buy  and  sell  securities.  I 
presumed  that  the  laws  of  supply  and  demand 
invariably  governed  the  quotations  that  obtain 
in  this  market,  and  that  prices  fell  because 
more  shares  were  offered  for  sale  than  there 
were  buyers  for,  and  rose  because  the  demand 
was  in  excess  of  the  number  of  shares  offered 
for  sale. 

47 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

In  my  greenness — and  I  possessed  no  more 
distinct  a  tinge  of  that  color  than  do  four 
hundred  and  ninety-nine  out  of  every  five 
hundred  men  who  think  they  know  something 
about  the  stock  exchange — I  supposed  that  a 
broker  was  one  who  merely  took  orders  to  buy 
or  sell  certain  shares  of  a  commodity,  that  he 
bought  as  cheaply  as  he  could  or  sold  for  the 
highest  possible  price,  and  that  his  profit  was 
invariably  a  certain  small  commission,  an 
amount  so  small  as  to  be  inconsequential 
compared  to  the  gross  amount  of  the  purchase 
or  sale. 

I  supposed  that  when  a  man  bought  a  hun- 
dred shares  of  stock  he  actually  received  the 
stock  certificate.  Of  course  I  knew  that  he 
did  not  get  them  on  the  spot,  as  he  would  if 
he  were  purchasing  a  barrel  of  flour  or  a  bushel 
of  potatoes,  but  I  had  the  impression  that  the 
documents  were  delivered  to  him  as  soon  after 
the  purchase  as  was  practicable.  I  had  heard 
of  "margins,"  and  knew,  in  a  vague  way,  that 
the  term  referred  to  a  practice  of  purchasing 
stock  without  depositing  all  the  money  involved 
in  the  transaction.  But  I  had  the  impression 
that  the  "margin"  was  a  sort  of  payment  on 
account,   a  deposit  to  bind  the  bargain,   an 

48 


THAT  IS  FINANCE 

entirely  legitimate  first  payment  for  the  goods 
purchased. 

From  time  to  time  I  read  in  the  papers  of 
men  who  were  ruined  in  the  stock  market,  but 
the  stories  did  not  make  the  impression  on  me 
that  they  would  to-day,  for  I  said  to  myself, 
'These  men  made  errors  of  judgment.  They 
purchased  when  the  stock  was  about  to  decline 
in  value.  Their  position  is  about  the  same  as 
that  of  the  man  who  buys  a  house  in  a  neigh- 
borhood in  which  the  value  of  all  real  estate  is 
depreciating.' ' 

I  was,  from  the  beginning,  earnestly  hostile 
to  "speculation,5'  but  the  term  was  a  vague 
one  to  me  and  had  little  association  in  my  mind 
with   the   great   financial   leaders.     Rather  it 
was  connected  in   my  thought  with    bucket- 
shops,  which  I  understood  to  be  mere  gam- 
bling   places.     That    the   big   financiers,   the 
'respectable"  bankers  and  brokers,  were  con- 
nected with  the  stock  market  in  the  gambling 
sense,  was  a  fact  that  did  not  reach  my  con- 
sciousness for  quite  a  few  years— not  until  I 
had    become    a    newspaper    man    and    had 
knocked  against  the  rough  edges  of  the  world 
long  enough  to  gain  some  perspective  as  to 
right  and  wrong,  justice  and  injustice. 

49 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

When  the  knowledge  began  to  come  to  me 
it  brought  with  it  a  distinct  shock.  As  I  came 
in  touch  with  "big  men"  I  began  to  get  a  new 
perspective.  I  found  that  the  most  successful 
leader  in  the  so-called  world  of  finance  might  be 
merely  the  most  able  pirate;  that  there  was  a 
different  standard  on  this  financial  plane  from 
that  to  which  I  had  been  accustomed,  a  stand- 
ard that  gauged  a  man  not  by  what  he  had 
done  to  help  others  and  make  the  world  better, 
but  by  how  much  money  he  had  been  able  to 
take  from  his  fellows,  without  regard  to  the 
honesty  of  the  methods  by  which  he  had 
secured  it. 

My  awe  of  :'big  men"  vanished  when  I 
learned,  early  in  my  manhood  days,  that  the 
souls  of  many  of  the  "biggest"  would  be  lost 
on  the  point  of  the  finest  needle.  Incidentally 
my  mind  readjusted  itself  and  in  the  process 
found  a  brand  new  definition  of  the  word 
"respectable." 

When  I  was  graduated  from  the  newspaper 
to  the  financial  office  I  had  a  peep  behind  the 
scenes.  What  I  saw  there  was  a  greater  sur- 
prise— and  shock — than  ever  was  a  visit  back 
of  the  curtain  to  the  novice  whose  ideas 
of    the   stage    had    been    formed    from    that 

50 


THAT  IS  FINANCE 

darkened  land  out  in  front  of  the  footlights, 
where  grease-paint  passes  for  wrinkles  and 
powder  for  fair  youth  and  peachblow  com- 
plexion. 

I  had  a  glimpse  into  a  new  country,  a  country 
where  deceit  stands  for  cleverness,  where 
smirking  treachery  replaces  good-will,  where 
honor  is  laughed  at  as  a  decadent  virtue — even 
the  kind  of  honor  that  in  other  piratical  com- 
munities binds  one  thief  to  another  in  their 
common  enmity  against  the  outside  world, 
with  its  honest  men  and  its  policemen. 

It  was — and  is — a  country  with  a  strange 
people  and  a  strange  history. 

A  woman  came  into  my  office  one  day.  She 
was  middle-aged,  pinched,  careworn,  a  typical 
hard-working,  care-taking,  close-saving  daugh- 
ter of  thrifty  New  England.  She  told  me  her 
story. 

Out  of  his  fair  wages  her  husband  had  for 
many  years  made  her  a  liberal  allowance  for 
the  expenses  of  the  household.  She  had  suc- 
ceeded, by  pinching  and  planning  and  saving, 
in  setting  aside  a  large  portion  of  that  allow- 
ance, and  now  she  had,  unknown  to  her  hus- 
band, the  sum  of  four  thousand  dollars. 

"I  have  read  in  the  papers  that  the  best 

51 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

way  to  make  money  is  to  buy  stocks,' '  she 
told  me,  "and  as  I  understand  you  deal  in 
stocks  I  have  come  to  ask  you  what  to  do  with 
this  money.  I  have  never  had  any  of  it  in  a 
bank — I'm  afraid  of  banks.  I  knew  a  woman 
once  who  put  her  money  in  a  bank  and  it  broke 
and  she  lost  everything  she  had.  I've  always 
kept  my  money  in  the  house.  It's  worried  me 
a  lot,  on  account  of  burglars,  and  whenever  I've 
gone  away  anywhere  I've  had  to  carry  it  with 
me,  and  that's  been  a  lot  of  trouble  and  worry. 
But  I've  never  lost  any  of  it.     Here  it  is." 

She  opened  a  bag  which  she  carried  in  her 
hand  and  laid  the  money  on  my  desk — four 
thousand  dollars  in  large  bills. 

"Now  I  want  to  invest  it  somewhere,"  she 
said,  "  in  something  where  it  will  be  sure  to  at 
least  double  itself  in  a  few  years.  I  know 
there  are  a  lot  of  places  like  that,  because  I've 
read  about  them  You  must  know  some  stock 
that  I  can  buy  that  will  turn  this  four  thousand 
dollars  into  ten  in  five  years  or  so.  I  don't 
want  my  husband  to  know  anything  about  it 
until  I  have  ten  thousand  dollars.  Then  I'm 
going  to  surprise  him  by  turning  over  the  whole 
amount.  It  will  be  a  great  relief  to  him,  for 
he's  always  worrying  about  what  we'll  do  when 

52 


THAT  IS  FINANCE 

we  get  old.  And  that,"  she  added  pathet- 
ically, "isn't  so  many  years  away." 

"  Did  you  suppose, "  I  asked  her,  "  that  there 
were  investments  paying  a  very  high  rate  of 
interest  which  were  absolutely  secure?" 

"Why,  certainly,"  she  repeated.  "I've 
read  about  them." 

"  Without  any  risk  whatever  ?" 

The  woman  gasped  at  the  suggestion. 
"Oh,  I  can't  take  any  risk,"  she  said.  "I 
can't  take  any  chance  of  losing  any  of  this  that 
I've  already  got  saved.  Whatever  I  put  this 
into  has  got  to  be  absolutely  sure.  That's 
why  I  came  to  you.  I  thought  you  would 
know  of  something  of  that  sort  and  would  take 
the  money  and  invest  it  for  me." 

"But  suppose  you  did  lose  it,"  I  insisted. 

"I  believe  it  would  kill  me,"  replied  the 
woman.  "I  know  I  could  never  look  my 
husband  in  the  face  again.  But  I  don't  want 
to  lose  it.  I  want  something  that's  sure  not  to 
lose." 

"Mrs.  Blank,"  I  said  seriously  (it  would  be 
manifestly  improper  for  me  to  use  her  name, 
although  she  stands  ready  to  bear  me  out  in 
this  story  should  it  ever  become  advisable  or 
necessary),  "  if  you  are  wise  you  will  listen  to  my 

53 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

advice — and  take  it.  You  are  old  enough  to 
be  my  mother — but  listen  to  me.  I  recom- 
mend that  when  you  walk  out  of  this  office  you 
go  right  up  School  Street  to  the  Five  Cent 
Savings  Bank,  which  I  believe  to  be  one  of  the 
strongest  and  most  reliable  institutions  in  the 
city  of  Boston.  It  never  has  closed  its  doors. 
I  believe  it  never  will.  I  regard  it  as  an 
absolutely  safe  depository  for  your  money — far 
safer  than  your  house  or  your  person.  When 
you  get  there  give  your  four  thousand  dollars 
to  the  cashier  and  take  a  bankbook  for  it. 
Then  take  the  bankbook  home,  show  it  to 
your  husband,  and  receive  his  praise  for  your 
industry  and  frugality. 

"In  this  way  you  will  not  double  your 
money  in  four  or  five  years.  You  will  not 
double  it  even  during  your  lifetime.  But  you 
will  see  it  grow  by  degrees,  and  it  will  never 
shrink  unless  you  yourself  draw  it  out  and 
spend  it.  By  all  means  put  the  money  in  a 
strong  savings  bank." 

"But  I  wanted  to  invest  it,"  she  said,  with  a 
quiver  of  the  lip,  "and  I  thought  you  would 
tell  me  just  where  I  could  put  it  so  it  would 
grow  to  be  ten  thousand.  I  don't  understand 
business,  but  I  was  sure  you  would." 

54 


THAT  IS  FINANCE 

"It  is  very  evident,  whatever  you  may  or 
mav  not  know  about  business,"  I  said,  "that 
you  do  not  understand  this  matter  of  stocks. 
I  am  speaking  plainly  to  you  because  you  are 
a  woman,  and  you  have  trusted  me  in  this 
matter.  There  are  investments,  undoubtedly, 
which  are  absolutely  and  unquestionably  safe, 
but  just  which  they  are  no  living  man  may  say 
without  fear  of  mistake.  Assuredly  you  do 
not  wish  to  speculate  with  your  money,  for  the 
man  or  woman  who  speculates  merely  gambles, 
and  takes  a  big  chance  of  losing  all  for  the 
chance  of  winning  much.  And  I  know  so 
few  absolutely  non-speculative  stocks  that  in 
your  particular  case  I  advise  you  not  to  buy 
any,  but  to  deposit  your  money  in  a  savings 
bank  at  whatever  interest  rate  is  allowed." 

"I'm  sure  you  are  mistaken,  Mr.  King," 
the  woman  said,  "when  you  say  that  there 
are  not  a  great  many  stocks  which  may  be 
bought  without  any  danger  of  loss.  Why,  I 
read  in  a  magazine  the  other  day — "  And  she 
proceeded  to  recount  the  subject  of  her  read- 
ing— a  promise  so  impossible,  so  wild,  so 
incredible  as  to  stand  upon  the  face  of  it  as 
a  sheer  bunco  scheme. 

Although  I  was  busy,  this  woman's  plight 

55 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

appealed  to  me.  Her  pathetic  desire  to  win 
money,  to  the  end  that  she  and  her  husband 
might  not  suffer  in  their  old  age,  won  my 
sympathy,  and  I  gave  her  a  good  many 
minutes  of  my  time.  I  told  her  some  of  the 
things  I  knew  about  "the  Street"  and  the 
ravening  wolves  that  there  lay  in  wait  for  just 
such  unsuspecting  lambs  as  she.  I  told  her 
some  of  my  acquaintances'  experience  with 
speculation  that  had  been  paraded  as  invest- 
ment. I  emphasized  the  danger  of  loss  and 
the  percentage  of  chance  for  winning.  I  tried 
to  draw  for  her  a  picture  of  her  feelings  should 
the  stocks  she  purchased  shrink  in  market 
value.     But  she  was  stubborn. 

"I  know  that  is  true  of  some  stocks,"  she 
said.  "That  is  why  I  came  to  you.  I  want 
you  to  select  for  me  the  other  kind  of  stocks — 
the  kind  that  is  sure  to  go  up. " 

I  could  have  personally  sold  her  securities 
that  I  honestly  believed  would  not  decline  in 
price.  I  could  have  taken  her  money — she 
begged  me  to.  But  I  would  not.  It  would  be 
too  terrible  a  responsibility  should  I  prove  to  be 
wrong. 

Finally  she  went  away.  I  believed  I  had 
convinced  her,  and  that  she  would  go  to  the 

5(y 


THAT  IS  FINANCE 

bank,  as  I  had  advised,  and  deposit  her  savings 
of  years  against  the  impending  rainy  day. 

I  did  not  see  her  nor  hear  from  her  again  for 
two  months.  I  had  forgotten  the  incident. 
One  afternoon  she  was  announced  and  shown 
into  my  private  office.  Her  appearance 
shocked  me. 

Those  two  months  seemed  to  have  added 
ten  years  to  her  age.  Her  face  was  more 
wrinkled.  Her  eyes  were  red  with  weeping 
and  in  their  depths  was  a  lasting  horror. 
Bursting  into  tears,  and  interrupting  the  story 
with  self-recriminations,  she  told  me  what  had 
come  about. 

Not  satisfied  that  I  had  given  her  good 
advice,  she  had  gone  to  the  office  of  a  "  finan- 
cier." 1  quote  the  word  because  there  are 
financiers  and  financiers,  and  this  was  one 
better  described  by  a  "shorter  and  uglier 
word."  She  had  told  him  her  story  even  as 
she  had  told  it  to  me.  Had  he  advised  her  to 
avoid  speculation  as  she  would  pestilence,  to 
take  no  chances  with  the  slowly-scraped- 
together  savings?  Not  he.  He  had  assured 
her  that  in  what  she  had  heard  and  believed 
she  had  been  right — that  there  were  many 
certain  ways  of  doubling  her  money  in  a  few 

57 


THE   LIGHT   OF  FOUR   CANDLES 

years,  yes,  in  a  year — that  he  who  placed  his 
money  in  a  bank  was  foolish  and  he  who 
" invested''  it  in  the  particular  scheme  which 
this  "financier"  was  at  that  moment  touting 
was  wise. 

He  was  eloquent  in  promises,  and  he  took 
the  woman's  four  thousand  dollars. 

Now  it  was  gone — every  cent  of  it.  Some- 
thing had  happened  to  the  "financier's" 
scheme,  she  did  not  know  just  what,  because 
she  couldn't  get  at  him  to  ask  him  to  explain. 
I  could  have  told  her  what  had  happened, 
even  as  I  could  have  told  her  two  months 
before  what  would  happen  if  she  gave  her 
money  to  this  particular  thief — let's  drop  the 
"financier"  and  call  things  by  their  right 
names — but  I  did  not  say  "I  told  you  so." 
The  woman's  sufferings  were  intense  enough 
without  my  adding  vinegar  to  her  wounds. 

She  begged  me  to  try  to  get  her  money  back 
for  her.  Of  course  I  could  not  do  it,  and  had 
to  tell  her  so. 

That  old  woman  had  been  robbed  as  cer- 
tainly and  positively  as  though  the  robber  had 
filched  her  roll  of  bills  from  the  handbag  she 
carried.  She  had  never  possessed  the  slight- 
est chance  to  save  even  her  principal.     The 

58 


THAT  IS  FINANCE 

moment  she  gave  up  her  money  it  was  gone 
forever. 

I  told  the  story  to  an  acquaintance  asso- 
ciated with  "the  Street."  I  looked  for  some 
expression  of  sorrow,  of  horror,  of  sympathy. 
Instead,  he  laughed. 

"That  is  finance,"  he  said. 

I  knew  a  middle-aged  man,  a  school  teacher 
in  one  of  the  smaller  New  England  cities.  He 
had  scrimped  and  saved  to  get  an  education. 
The  habit,  thus  fixed  in  early  life,  had  been 
continued  as  the  years  passed,  and  he  had 
accumulated  a  few  hundred  dollars. 

Over  the  signature  of  a  man  of  whom  he  had 
heard  as  a  successful  leader  in  finance  he  read 
a  promise  that  a  certain  stock,  to  be  sold  for  a 
brief  time  at  a  few  dollars  a  share,  would  in- 
crease within  a  month  or  so  to  many  times  its 
purchase  price.  The  writer  promised  this, 
upon  his  word  of  honor.  He  said  he  had  care- 
fully investigated  the  property,  that  it  was 
intrinsically  worth  much  more  than  even  the 
figure  at  which  he  predicted  its  early  quotation, 
and  that  he  would  guarantee  to  those  who 
followed  his  advice  profits  rich  and  rare. 

He  did  not  advise  his  readers  to  buy  the 
stock    and    take    the    certificates    out    of    the 

59 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

market,  but  to  purchase  on  margins — to  specu- 
late— to  gamble.  He  called  to  their  attention 
that  this  was  not  really  gambling,  because  there 
was  no  chance  but  the  stock  would  advance  in 
price. 

The  middle-aged  school  teacher  took  every 
cent  he  had  in  the  world  and  sent  it  to  a  broker 
for  the  purchase  of  this  much-touted  stock. 
Filled  with  the  promises  of  the  supposed 
financial  leader  he  was  not  satisfied  with  this, 
but  borrowed  a  few  hundreds  more. 

Within  two  weeks  he  was  penniless  and  in 
debt.  iVnd  in  such  a  vast  company  of  fellow 
dupes  was  he  that  his  individual  case  at- 
tracted hardly  any  attention.  The  so-called 
financial  leader  was  reckoned  in  "the  Street" 
to  have  cleaned  up  upward  of  a  million  dollars 
in  profits  from  this  one  advertising  campaign — 
for  of  course  he  had  unloaded  upon  the  con- 
fiding public  the  stock  it  had  actually  bought, 
and  so  manipulated  the  market  that  the  money 
of  those  who  took  his  advice  and  bought  on 
margins  fell  into  his  outstretched  hands. 

"This  is  absolute  robberv,"  I  said.  "  Abso- 
lute  and  undisguised  highway  robbery." 

"It  is  finance,"  was  the  reply. 

A  great  "financier"  went  on  a  fishing  and 

60 


THAT  IS  FINANCE 

hunting  excursion  deep  into  the  woods  of 
Maine.  He  was  one  of  a  party,  an  invited 
guest.  There  were  perhaps  a  dozen  men,  all 
together,  and  they  left  business  behind  them 
in  New  York  and  Boston  to  take  a  fortnight's 
outing  in  the  wilds. 

This  "  financier"  had  been  busily  engaged  in 
the  manipulation  on  the  stock  exchange  of  a 
certain  mining  stock,  whose  name  had  filled 
the  market  columns  of  the  newspapers  for  a 
number  of  weeks.  It  was  generally  recog- 
nized that  he  knew  what  had  happened  and 
what  was  going  to  happen  to  that  particular 
stock,  because  he  had  more  to  do  with  fixing 
the  market  price  of  it  than  all  the  other  men 
and  all  the  laws  of  supply  and  demand  in  the 
world.  Among  the  dozen  men  there  was  not 
one  who  would  not  have  given  a  good  many 
dollars  to  know  just  what  was  this  manipula- 
tor's plan  regarding  the  future  price  of  the 
stock,  for  with  this  knowledge  he  could  buy  or 
sell  and  make  a  fortune  for  himself. 

The  host  of  the  party  owned  a  fine  yacht,  and 
he  proposed,  after  the  hunting  was  at  an 
end,  that  all  his  guests  go  to  the  nearest  port 
with  him,  embark  in  the  yacht  and  leisurely 
steam  down  the  coast  to  New  York,  spending 

61 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

two  or  three  days  on  the  water  and  avoiding 
the  heat  and  hardship  of  summer  travel  in  the 
trains.  They  agreed,  with  the  exception  of  the 
particular  "financier"  to  whose  stock  activity 
I  have  referred. 

"I'm  sorry,"  he  said,  "I'd  like  to  go  with 
you  fellows,  but  to  tell  you  the  truth  there  are 
to  be  important  developments  in  the  So-and- 
So  campaign  which  require  my  presence  in 
town." 

The  host  and  the  other  guests  pricked  up 
their  ears.  "  I  should  think  you  might  give 
us  a  little  tip,"  said  one  of  them,  good- 
naturedly. 

The  "financier"  thought  seriously  for  a 
moment.  "Boys,"  he  said,  finally,  "you're 
good  friends  of  mine,  and  we've  all  had  a 
pleasant  time  together.  I  feel  as  if  I  owed  you 
something  for  the  two  weeks'  entertainment — 
especially  our  host,  here.  If  you  will  all 
pledge  yourselves  to  secrecy  and  not  give  warn- 
ing to  a  soul,  I'll  intimate  what  is  going  to 
happen  to  So-and-So,"  naming  the  stock. 

Without  exception  they  eagerly,  not  to  say 
greedily,  agreed. 

"If  I  give  you  a  tip  on  this  I  expect  you,  as 
men  of  honor,  not  to  take  an  active  part  in  the 

62 


THAT  IS  FINANCE 

market,"  he  continued.  'What  is  to  happen 
will  happen  within  three  or  four  days — before 
you  reach  New  York  in  the  yacht,  I  think.  I 
want  your  promise  to  stay  away  from  the  city 
as  you  have  planned,  and  not  to  participate  in 
any  public  manner  in  the  campaign.  If  you 
do,  you  see,  people  who  know  you  have  been 
away  with  me  will  suspect  that  you  have  an 
intimation  of  how  the  cat  is  going  to  jump,  and 
it  might  prevent  things  working  out  as  we 
expect." 

"  There  is  nothing  to  prevent  any  of  us  tak- 
ing a  little  flyer,  is  there  ?"  asked  one. 

"Nothing  whatever,  so  long  as  you  keep 
away  from  town  and  are  not  known  in  it. " 

Thereupon  they  all  agreed  to  the  terms. 
The  "financier"  looked  about  him  to  be 
certain  no  one  could  hear,  and  dropped  his 
voice. 

"It  will  be  a  bull  campaign,"  he  said.  "I 
expect  to  put  the  stock  up  at  least  ten  points." 

Before  the  yacht  set  sail  for  New  York  every 
man  of  the  dozen  had  telegraphed  or  tele- 
phoned confidential  orders  to  purchase  large 
blocks  of  the  stock  on  a  margin. 

They  sailed  away.  The  financier  hastened 
to  his  office  and  began  his  campaign—a  bear 

63 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

campaign.  The  quotations  of  the  stock  fell 
fifteen  points.  The  brokers  who  had  been 
given  the  orders  by  the  host  and  other  friends 
who  were  on  the  sea,  unable  to  reach  their 
principals  to  secure  additional  margins,  sold 
them  out.  When  the  yacht  arrived  in  New 
York  the  voyagers  found  they  were  hundreds 
of  thousands  of  dollars  poorer  than  when  they 
set  sail  from  Maine.  Their  losses  had  been 
their  companion's  gain. 

"But  this,"  I  said,  "is  treachery  to  one's 
friends.  This  man  defrauded  even  his  host, 
and  did  it  under  the  guise  of  friendship." 

"That  is  finance,"  was  the  answer. 

"But  he  had  eaten  this  man's  bread  and 
salt.  Every  obligation  of  custom,  whether 
civilized  or  savage,  obliged  him  to  play  fair 
with  him,  at  least  while  he  was  his  guest,  and 
he  took  advantage  of  the  sacred  law  of 
hospitality  to  steal  from  a  friend." 

The  answer  was  a  dogged  repetition.  "That 
is  finance." 

Boarding  a  train  to  visit  historic  Plymouth, 
where  landed  the  Pilgrims  to  find  religious 
freedom,  I  was  whirled  down  the  Massa- 
chusetts South  Shore.  At  a  little  station  an 
hour  out  of  Boston  the  train  stopped  and  there 

64 


THAT  IS  FINANCE 

opened  out  before  my  eyes  a  vista  almost  of 
fairyland. 

Before  me,  right  beside  the  track  and 
extending  along  it  for  many  hundred  yards, 
lay  a  fair  and  beautiful  estate.  Hundreds 
upon  hundreds  of  acres  were  under  finest  cul- 
tivation. Great  barns,  magnificently  ap- 
pointed and  ornately  built — stables  far  better 
than  the  homes  of  more  than  half  the  people  of 
this  land — housed  the  finest  horses  and  live- 
stock that  money  could  buy.  Handsome 
kennels  filled  with  blooded  dogs  were  cared  for 
by  many  skillful  workmen. 

A  race-track,  for  exercising  the  trotters  that 
the  farm  raised,  encircled  a  plot  of  brilliant 
green.  A  wide  and  welcoming  arch  covered 
the  gateway  to  the  grounds.  Up  beyond,  back 
from  the  railroad,  stood  a  beautiful  manor 
house,  its  windows  giving  view  upon  as  fair 
a  stretch  of  hill  and  dale  and  distant  ocean  as 
ever  God  set  down  in  coastwise  New  England. 
Topping  a  hill  was  a  handsome  observation 
tower,  and  out  in  front  of  the  great  house,  a 
ringer  pointing  to  the  deep  turquoise  of  the 
summer  heaven,  was  a  giant  flagstaff,  from 
whose  top  snapped  and  crackled  in  the  breeze 
a  beautiful  new  American  flag. 

65 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

And  everywhere  were  roses,  American  beau- 
ties and  climbers.  They  were  set  in  huge  beds 
in  every  nook  and  corner  of  the  great  estate. 
They  found  foothold  upon  the  walls  and  roof 
of  every  beautiful  building.  They  ran  riot 
over  the  stone  walls  and  the  race-track  fences 
and  the  arbors  and  trellises  that  dotted  the 
landscape.  Their  intoxicating  odor  filled  the 
air  until  the  passing  train  was  perfumed  with 
it.  Their  glorious  beauty  made  the  senses 
drunken  with  the  joy  of  color. 

Ah,  it  was  beautiful,  a  nature's  paradise 
enhanced  by  the  hand  of  man!  I  know  of  no 
more  beautiful  estate  in  the  world — and  I  have 
traveled  much.  "Whose  home  is  this?"  I 
asked. 

"  That  is  Dreamwold,  the  home  of  Thomas 
W.  Lawson,"  proudly  replied  a  native  of  the 
section.  "  Isn't  it  great  ?  It  cost  three  million 
dollars." 

I  turned  to  my  traveling  companion. 
"How  can  this  be?"  I  asked.  "Did  we  not 
read  but  a  few  weeks  ago,  over  this  man's  own 
signature,  that  he  sympathized  with  the  thou- 
sands of  investors  who,  following  his  advice, 
had  lost  their  all  in  the  maelstrom  of  the 
market,    because   he,    too,    had   been    a   vast 

66 


THAT  IS  FINANCE 

loser?  Has  he  not  often  said  that  when  his 
followers  lost,  he  also  lost  ?  And  have  not  his 
followers  invariably  lost?     How  can  this  be?" 

My  companion  shrugged  his  shoulders. 

"That  is  finance,"  he  said. 


67 


Chapter  VIII 
CREDO 

THIS  was  a  strange,  wild  and  terrible 
country  into  which  I  was  gaining  an 
insight — a  country  where  all  the  rules 
of  civilization,  of  morality,  of  religion,  of 
common  humanity,  were  laid  aside  to  make 
room  for  one  rule,  a  new  commandment  of  but 
two  words  and  nine  letters:    "Make  money." 

I  early  learned  that  on  one  side  of  the  twist- 
ing paths  of  that  country  were  these  financiers 
bent  upon  robbing  the  earners  of  their  hard- 
won  funds,  while  on  the  other  side  was  a  band 
hardly  less  dangerous.  This  band  called  itself 
"conservative."  Early  in  my  days  of  writing 
I  came  to  call  them  "three-per-centers." 

It  wTas  and  is  an  argument  of  this  last- 
named  band  that  no  investment  can  be  safe 
which  promises  a  greater  return  than  three, 
three-and-a-half  or  four  per  cent.  Investi- 
gation brings  to  light  the  striking  fact  that  a 
majority  of  the  men  who  most  loudly  declare 
this  doctrine  are  men  who  receive  ten,  fifteen 
and  a  higher  per  cent  for  their  own  money, 

68 


CREDO 

while  they  pay  but  three  or  four  per  cent  for  the 
money  of  others  placed  in  their  hands.  Of 
such  are  the  realms  of  banking. 

Between  the  radical  who  promises  him  too 
much  and  robs  him  of  his  savings,  and  the 
"conservative"  who  gives  him  not  enough  and 

therebv  robs  him  of  the  fair  return  of  his  sav- 

»/ 

ings,  the  ordinary  man  stands  confused.  On 
one  side  is  injustice  and  unfairness;  on  the 
other  side,  unfairness  and  injustice.  It  is  a 
strange  land. 

I  early  resolved  to  become  a  guide  to  lead 
people  out  of  that  land,  to  find  paths  through 
the  country  of  finance  that  should  not  end  in 
bottomless  swamp  on  the  one  side  or  impen- 
etrable jungle  on  the  other.  I  resolved,  in 
brief,  that  honesty  in  finance  was  not  only 
possible,  but  practical. 

I  knew  that  there  stalked  abroad  investment 
enterprises  that  offered  to  the  investor  a  good 
return  upon  his  invested  funds  with  but  a 
minimum  chance  of  loss.  Such  enterprises 
were  those  in  which  the  very  men  who  urged 
that  three  per  cent  is  the  highest  earnings  of 
safety  were  investing  their  spare  funds.  I 
appreciated  that  somewhere  between  the  fabu- 
lous promises  of  the  radical  and  the  absurd 

69 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR   CANDLES 

contentions  of  the  "conservative"  lay  combined 
safety  and  profit.  I  determined  to  seek  such 
enterprises  and  offer  them  to  the  investing 
public,  to  point  out  the  way  to  safe  investment 
and  at  the  same  time  sound  a  clear  warning  as 
to  the  pitfalls  that  are  planned  to  entrap  the 
unwary. 

This  was  iconoclastic,  but  do  not  under- 
stand me  as  saying  it  was  merely  a  philan- 
thropic purpose.  I  believed,  as  a  business 
man,  that  such  a  course  would  prove  profitable, 
that  in  the  saving  and  earning  of  millions  by 
investors  I  should  earn — and  should  justly  be 
entitled  to  earn — thousands  for  myself.  I 
firmly  believed  that  honesty  would  not  only  be 
right  and  the  best  policy,  but  that  it  would 
prove  reasonably  profitable.  I  expected  to 
receive  my  fair  percentage  from  the  money  I 
made  for  others,  as  well  as  their  thanks  and 
appreciation. 

Adopting  a  distinct  plan  of  campaign,  I 
began  to  seek  publicity  for  it.  On  a  certain 
public  occasion  it  became  necessary  for  me  to 
put  into  words  the  aims  and  purposes  of  my 
work,  and  thereafter  I  many  times  repeated 
those  words.  They  are  no  less  my  sentiments 
to-day  than  they  were  on  the  fair  morning  on 

70 


CREDO 

which  I  penned  them,  and  to  understand  what 
I  have  aimed  to  do  and  why  I  have  won  for 
myself  the  hate  and  malice  of  the  Thugs  with 
whose  sacrifices  to  Kali  I  have  interfered,  I 
will  repeat  them  here. 

I  wrote: 

"  To  be  honest  and  honorable,  just  and  open- 
minded,  true  to  myself  and  all  mankind;  to  be 
fair  in  all  things;  to  serve  my  fellows;  to  in- 
crease in  wealth  only  when,  in  doing  so,  I  add 
to  the  wealth  of  those  who  are  my  friends,  my 
associates  and  my  customers;  to  assist  in  the 
productivity  of  the  world,  and  see  to  it,  so  far 
as  in  me  lies,  that  there  shall  be  a  fair  division 
of  the  profit  among  those  whose  money  aids  in 
the  production;  to  eternally  raise  my  voice 
against  the  clique-cultivated  fallacy  that  three 
or  four  per  cent  is  a  fair  year's  wage  for  an 
iVmerican  dollar,  sent  out  to  work  in  the  markets 
of  the  world;  to  demonstrate  this,  my  con- 
tention, in  the  future,  as  in  the  past,  by  the 
simple  operation  of  seeing  to  it  that  those  whom 
I  am  privileged  to  serve  receive  seven  per  cent 
and  more  as  the  wages  of  their  dollars;  to  give 
to  every  man  that  'square  deal'  which  was 
first  expressed  in  the  words,  'As  ye  would  that 
men  should  do   unto  you,  do  ye  even  so  to 

71 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

them';  to  preach  everlastingly  the  principle  of 
an  honest,  fair  and  sufficient  return  upon  the 
dollars  of  American  investment,  and  ever- 
lastingly to  practise  what  I  preach — these  are 
the  business  principles  upon  which  I  stand 
and  upon  which  I  shall  rise  or  fall,  from  this 
day  until  that  one — be  it  distant  or  soon — 
when  I  go  to  take  my  apportioned  place  in  the 
City  of  Eternal  Silence." 


72 


■ 


Chapter  IX 
THE  WOLF-PACK  AND  ITS  LEADER 

ALONG  the  lines  laid  down  by  this 
declaration  of  faith  I  conducted  my 
work.  In  the  early  days,  when  my 
business  was  of  small  proportions  and  my 
clientele  of  followers  numbered  but  few,  I  was 
to  a  degree  unmolested  by  the  powers  that 
prey.  They  called  me  " sensationalist"  and 
affected  to  hold  me  in  infinite  contempt. 
This  apparently  gave  them  pleasure  and  did 
not  hurt  me,  who  constantly  gained  in  strength 
and  following. 

I  was  never  deceived  into  believing  that  this 
condition  would  continue  always.  I  had  too 
thorough  an  understanding  of  the  manner  of 
men  who  populated  this  new  country  that  I 
had  entered.  I  knew  that,  let  me  once  gain 
the  position  I  sought — the  position  where 
thousands  should  listen  to  my  spoken  and 
written  word  and  follow  my  advice — I  should 
have  a  bitter  fight  on  my  hands.  Yet  I  never 
for  a  moment  appreciated,  in  those  days,  the 
resources  of  the  enemy  or  the  infinite  lengths 

73 


-/ 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

to  which  he  would  go  to  crush  out  opposition. 

In  this  country  of  Finance  are  many  animals 
that  prey.  They  are  not  unlike  the  beasts  of 
the  jungle  in  more  ways  than  one.  There  are 
the  lions  and  tigers  and  panthers.  These  are 
strong,  self-satisfied  creatures,  who  hunt  singly 
or  in  pairs.  They  hunt  well  within  the  con- 
fines of  the  jungle,  seldom  killing  aught  but 
their  own  kind  or  other  wild  animals.  They 
are  brave,  powerful  fighters. 

Then  there  are  the  wolves,  who  hunt  on  the 
edge  of  the  jungle.  Occasionally,  when 
enough  of  them  are  together  and  their  enemy 
is  injured  or  sick,  they  can  pull  down  one  of 
the  greater  beasts,  although  they  only  dare  to 
trv  when  for  some  reason  the  chance  of  success 
is  multiplied  by  fortune.  More  often  they 
hunt  in  the  ploughed  fields  that  border  the 
forests,  killing  small  game.  They  are  man- 
eaters,  those  wolves,  and  the  pack's  delight 
is  to  find  a  husbandman  on  the  edge  of  the 
jungle,  too  far  away  from  home  to  reach  it, 
and  drag  him  down  to  death  by  sheer  force  of 
numbers. 

The  lions  and  tigers  and  panthers  are  the 
"captains  of  industry"  of  Wall  Street.  The 
wolves  are  the  treacherous,  vicious  hangers-on 

74 


THE  WOLF-PACK  AND  ITS  LEADER 

about  the  edges  of  the  forest  of  Finance,  who 
cannot  be  satisfied  by  a  more  or  less  fair  fight 
with  other  beasts  of  prey,  but  seek  to  ravage 
the  villages,  enticing  men  out  from  their  homes 
into  the  fields  and  slaughtering  them  without 
mercy. 

The  lions  and  tigers  and  panthers  are  the 
men  who  "play  the  game,"  against  each 
other,  with  happiness  and  life-blood  as  the 
stakes,  in  the  great  stock  exchanges.  The 
wolves  are  the  wretches  who  go  up  and  down 
the  land  seeking  victims  of  speculation  under 
the  name  of  "investment,"  who  lure  the 
workers  into  parting  with  their  hard-earned 
savings,  who  pose  as  protectors  of  the  poor 
even  while  they  are  robbing  them  of  their  all. 
And  the  wolves,  being  naturally  cowards  and 
closely  allied  to  wild  dogs,  hunt  in  packs. 

You  have  read  Kipling's  "  Jungle  Book." 
Do  you  remember  Akela,  the  old,  gray,  lone 
wolf,  who  led  the  Seeonee  wolf-pack  for  more 
than  a  dozen  years  ?  Do  you  remember  how 
he  lay  upon  the  council  rock  and  spoke  words 
of  wisdom  to  which  all  the  other  wolves  lis- 
tened ?  Do  you  remember  how  he  enforced  his 
interpretations  of  the  jungle  law  by  killing 
those  other  wolves  who  would  not  do  his  bid- 

15 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

ding  ?  And  do  you  remember  how  he  led  the 
pack  forth  of  nights  to  pull  down  the  victim 
that  had  been  selected  for  the  hunt?  There 
came  a  time  when  his  power  departed — but 
that  was  after  he  had  missed  his  kill. 

The  wolves  with  whom  I  have  had  to  deal — 
and  yet  shall  deal — hunt  in  a  pack,  and  they 
have  a  lone,  gray  leader.  Like  Akela  he  is 
old  and  wise  in  the  wisdom  of  the  wolf.  Even 
as  Akela  he  sits  on  the  council  rock  and  gives 
commands.  He  ruthlessly  slaughters  those 
who  do  not  take  his  words  for  gospel.  He 
leads  the  pack  forth  of  nights  to  kill  all  enemies 
of  the  pack,  be  they  beast  or  men.  Like 
Akela,  his  power  will  pass  when  he  has  missed 
his  kill,  for  the  very  wolves  who  fawn  most 
upon  him  hate  him  for  his  ruthless  cruelty  and 
heartlessness.  He  knows  this.  Therefore  he 
will  spare  no  effort  of  tearing  tooth  and  ripping 
claw  to  finish  every  enemy. 

Already,  although  this  book  is  barely  started, 
I  have  several  times  mentioned  the  name  of 
Lawson.  I  shall  write  it  many  times  more 
before  I  have  finished.  I  could  not  do  other- 
wise if  I  wished.  As  well  endeavor  to  trans- 
late the  Bible  and  omit  the  name  of  the  Deity 
as  to  write  of  Financial  Thuggee  in  America 

76 


THE  WOLF-PACK  AND  ITS  LEADER 

and  omit  the  name  of  Lawson,  its  High-Priest. 

And  yet,  as  I  look  back  over  the  busy  years, 
I  can  truthfully  say  that  at  no  moment  in  my 
life  have  I  been  inspired  by  enmity  of  Thomas 
W.  Lawson,  the  man.  It  has  been  my  fate  to 
fight  him  bitterly  during  the  past  two  years, 
to  give  him  in  the  face  the  hardest  blows  he  has 
ever  received,  and  to  receive  from  him  in  the 
back  some  well-nigh  fatal  stabs.  And  yet  I 
can  truthfully  say  that  I  have  fought  him  not 
because  he  is  Lawson  the  man,  but  because  he 
is  Lawson  the  leader  of  the  Wolf-Pack. 

Strange  as  it  may  seem,  I  have  never  to  this 
day  personally  met  Thomas  W.  Lawson.  I 
have  seen  him  many  times.  For  many  months 
— more  than  a  year — we  ate  luncheon  daily  at 
the  same  hour,  in  the  same  dining-room  at 
Young's  Hotel.  We  have  met  face  to  face — 
have  almost  collided  in  the  entrance  to  the 
dining-room,  and  scores  of  diners  from  the 
business  centres  that  surround  the  hotel  have 
stared  and  caught  their  breaths,  wondering 
what  form  our  personal  encounter  might  take. 
But  we  never  spoke,  or  indicated  that  we  saw 
each  other.  He  has  never  in  his  life  spoken 
one  word  to  me.  I  have  never  in  my  life 
spoken  one  word  to  him. 

77 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

Yet  I  feel  that  I  know  Thomas  W.  Lawson 
— none  better.  I  have  watched  him  for  an 
aggregate  of  many  hours,  with  the  trained  eye 
of  the  newspaper  man,  accustomed  to  measure 
men.  I  have  heard  his  voice,  have  seen  his 
manner,  have  analyzed  his  habit.  I  know 
scores  of  men  who  know  him  personally,  if  not 
intimately — there  is  not  a  soul  who  has  his 
confidence;  his  own  private  secretary  may 
never  be  certain,  such  is  the  Lawson  Wolf- 
suspicion,  that  he  is  not  being  told  fictitious 
confidences  for  a  test  of  his  honesty  and  sin- 
cerity. And  I  am  competent  to  paint  some- 
thing of  a  picture  of  the  man  who  possesses 
the  distinction  of  having  conducted  the  most 
extensive  and  successful  confidence  games  the 
world  has  seen  since  the  days  of  Law  and  the 
South  Sea  Bubble. 

You  have  read  of  Lawson  that  he  is  the  most 
brilliant,  the  most  able,  the  most  resourceful, 
the  most  energetic  and  the  most  forceful  man 
that  ever,  in  America,  chose  to  ^vin  a  fortune 
by  preying  upon  others.  Much  of  this  is  true, 
although  justice  compels  the  reservation  that 
this  brilliancy  and  ability,  so  notable  when  it 
is  Lawson  against  the  ignorant  army  of  specu- 
lators, are  lessened  and  dimmed  to  the  point  of 

78 


THE   WOLF-PACK  AND  ITS  LEADER 

near-extinction  when  it  is  Lawson  against  the 
truly  big  men  in  the  field  of  finance.  Lawson 
has  never  won  a  battle  against  the  Morgans, 
the  Rogerses,  the  Gateses  and  the  Ryans  of 
the  financial  world.  He  has  made  millions 
from  them,  it  is  true,  but  it  has  been  by  doing 
their  jackal  work — by  acting  as  "capper"  for 
their  games.  On  the  few  occasions  when  he 
has  gone  out  to  beat  them  in  the  open  market 
— as  occasionally,  tempted  by  his  success  in 
buncoing  less  experienced  men,  he  has  done — 
they  have  beaten  him  to  the  point  of  imminent 
ruin.  Lawson  is  a  successful  operator  in  his 
own  particular  game — but  only  when  he  con- 
fines his  energies  to  what  his  prototypes  in 
lesser  fields  of  similar  finance  would  call 
"shaking  down  the  come-ons." 

You  have  read  of  Lawson  as  a  man  of  most 
magnetic  personality.  You  have  read  that  he 
shows  all  the  elements  of  leadership,  in  that 
his  assistants  are  filled  with  a  willingness  to 
follow  wherever  he  chooses  to  lead.  You  have 
read  that  he  is  loved  by  those  close  to  him, 
and  that  he  is  regarded  as  a  sort  of  father-in- 
finance  by  those  who  come  in  daily  contact 
with  the  workings  of  his  mind.  In  reading 
these  things  you  have  read  sheer  fiction. 

79 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

I  have  no  doubt  that  newspaper  reporters 
and  magazine  writers,  assigned  to  interview 
Lawson  and  to  write  descriptions  of  him  and  of 
his  work,  have  been  pleasantly  received.  I 
have  no  doubt  that,  in  their  presence,  Lawson 
has  beamed  and  smiled  and  pursued  a  trend  of 
conversation  that  has  impressed  them  with  his 
open  geniality.  It  is  to  be  remembered  that 
no  interviewer  reaches  Lawson  except  after 
miles  and  miles  of  red  tape  have  been  un- 
wound, during  which  unwinding  he  has  had 
ample  time  to  set  the  stage  for  the  interview 
and  rehearse  the  part  he  outlines  for  himself. 
Thus  it  has  come  about  that  many  writers,  not 
especially  friendly  to  Lawson  or  Lawson 
policies,  have  gone  away  from  his  room  in 
Young's  Hotel  filled  with  the  idea  that  Lawson 
is  a  pleasant  man  to  meet.  And  what  they 
have  written  has  brought  amusement,  not 
unmixed  with  scorn,  to  the  hearts  of  those  who 
know  him  and  come  into  more  or  less  frequent 
contact  with  him. 

In  the  first  place,  every  man  who  comes 
into  touch  with  Lawson  in  a  business  way, 
from  his  " confidential"  men — with  whom  he  is 
not  confidential  at  all  and  who  all  know  that  he 
would  steal  their  shoes  if  they  chanced  to  get 

80 


THE  WOLF-PACK  AND  ITS  LEADER 

the  laces  untied  as  quickly  as  he  would  juggle 
the  hard-earned  savings  of  an  investor  out  of 
the  investor's  pocket  into  his  own- — down  to 
his  thirty-fourth  assistant  secretary,  is  afraid 
of  him.  Not  afraid  of  him  in  the  sense  that 
every  man  should  fear  his  employer — fearing 
to  do  wrong,  fearing  to  displease,  fearing  to 
neglect  his  duty — but  personally  distrustful 
and  afraid.  He  cultivates  and  encourages  this 
fear.  He  is  uniformly  harsh  in  his  dealings 
with  them —  a  harshness  that  thev  tolerate  be- 
cause  he  pays  good  salaries.  He  maintains  a 
constant  attitude  of  impatience.  He  curses 
them  at  the  slightest  excuse — it  is  a  commonly 
known  fact  that  Lawson  is  excessively  pro- 
fane, vulgar  and  sacrilegious.  His  orders  are 
couched  in  abusive  language.  Therefore  it 
comes  about  that  his  assistants  cringe  when 
they  enter  his  presence,  listen  breathlessly  to 
his  orders,  and  execute  them  without  deviation 
or  turning. 

In  the  second  place,  Lawson  surrounds  him- 
self with  all  the  mystery  that  he  can  command. 
He  keeps  out  of  the  public  view — partially, 
probably,  for  the  dramatic  effect  that  only 
occasional  public  appearances  will  create, 
partially  because  he  does  not  wish  the  public 

81 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

ever  to  realize  how  different  is  the  reality  from 
the  ideal  he  has  painted  of  himself,  and  par- 
tially because  he  fears  the  personal  vengeance 
of  some  of  the  many  thousands  whose  ruin  he 
has  caused.  Several  secretaries  are  between 
him  and  the  public.  The  President  of  the 
United  States  is  not  so  hard  to  reach  as  Law- 
son.  Senators  who  have  daily  business  with 
the  President  may  gain  his  presence  with  a 
minimum  of  red  tape  and  delay,  but  business 
associates  whose  dealings  with  Lawson  have 
extended  over  years  must  state  their  business 
to  at  least  two  men  and  then  wait  interminably 
— if  in  the  end  they  are  not  sent  away — before 
they  can  even  kow-tow  and  say,  "  Good  morn- 
ing." 

Perhaps  you  also  have  read  that  Lawson  is 
a  handsome  man — that  his  face  is  bright  and 
smiling — that  he  laughs  often  and  that  his 
eyes  twinkle  merrily.  I  have  seen  Lawson  sit 
at  the  luncheon  table  with  men  whom  he 
wished  to  impress.  I  have  heard  him  laugh 
often  and  long.  I  have  seen  his  merriment 
throw  wrinkles  about  his  eyes — but  I  have 
never  seen  those  eyes  contain  one  spark  of 
humor,  one  twinkle  of  laughter,  one  flash  of 
human    feeling.     They    are    light   gray    eyes, 

82 


THE   WOLF-PACK  AND  ITS  LEADER 

cold  and  calculating,  without  expression  and 
without  heart.  "  The  most  cold-blooded  eyes 
I  ever  saw,"  was  the  way  one  acquaintance  of 
mine  who  had  just  met  Lawson  for  the  first 
time  described  them.  "What  is  the  matter 
with  them  ?"  he  added. 

Having  seen  them  many  times  I  was  able 
to  answer  him. 

"They  are  the  eyes  of  the  professional 
gambler,"  I  said. 

He  slapped  his  knee.  "  By  Jove,  you're 
right,"  he  cried.  "  That's  just  it,  but  I  couldn't 
get  it.  I've  seen  just  that  kind  of  eyes  many 
a  time  in  the  smiling  face  of  the  faro-dealer. 
They're  the  eyes  of  the  man  who  is  trying  to 
make  you  think  he's  a  good  fellow,  while  he's 
planning  down  in  his  heart  how  to  get  away 
with  your  roll." 

Yes,  it  is  true  that  Lawson,  when  he  is  on 
dress-parade  in  public,  laughs  a  great  deal — 
with  his  mouth  and  the  muscles  of  his  face. 
But  his  eyes  never  laugh,  because  they  are  the 
windows  of  the  soul  and  his  soul  contains  no 
laughter. 

Is  he  a  handsome  man?  He  is  well- 
groomed — well-tailored — well-dressed.  His 
clothes  fit  him  perfectly.     A  flower  is  always 

83 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

on  the  lapel  of  his  coat.  His  hair  is  well- 
trimmed;  his  heavy,  projecting  jaw  is  clean- 
shaven; his  mustache  is  oiled  and  curled.  If 
fine  feathers  make  fine  birds,  then  the  answer 
is,  "Yes,  he  is  a  handsome  man." 

But  fine  feathers  do  not  make  fine  birds. 
And  I  write  it,  not  because  I  wish  to  add  to  the 
unpleasant  things  that  I  write  about'  the  Leader 
of  the  Wolf-Pack — for  there  are  enough  un- 
complimentary things  to  be  said  without  going 
out  of  the  way  to  find  a  single  addition — but 
because  it  is  time  somebody  told  the  truth  about 
things  and  I  might  as  well  tell  it  all  at  once, 
that  Lawson  is  attractive  to  the  eye  only  so  far 
as  his  tailor  and  his  barber  and  his  manicurist 
make  him  attractive.  Cleanliness  and  the 
services  of  a  good  valet  do  not  make  beauty, 
and  I  tell  you  that  the  face  that  you  see  above 
Lawson's  white  collar  and  stylish  tie  is  the  face 
you  might  expect  to  see  peering  over  a  frayed, 
grimy  neckerchief,  in  the  light  of  a  dark- 
lantern. 

Did  I  write  that  Lawson  always  sits  with  his 
back  to  the  wall  ?  I  could  have  done  so  truth- 
fully. And  his  seat  is  over  in  the  corner.  And 
he  comes  into  the  dining-room  at  a  door  but 
three   steps   from   the   elevator  by   which  he 

84 


THE  WOLF-PACK  AND  ITS   LEADER 

descends  from  his  rooms.  And  if  any  one 
whom  he  had  impoverished  should  try  to  get 
to  him  at  his  table,  a  signal  to  the  waiters  who 
hover  around  would  throw  a  barrier  in  the 
intruder's  path. 

Oh,  yes.  Lawson  has  his  millions,  and 
"  Dreamwold,"  and  schemes  afoot  to  make 
more  millions— but  he  cannot,  with  all  his 
guards  and  all  his  riches,  escape  punishment. 
He  is  afraid.  Afraid  to  walk  the  streets— he 
always  rides.  Afraid  to  sit  in  the  middle  of  a 
dining-room — lest  some  victim  should  strike 
him  from  behind.  Afraid  to  let  visitors  get  at 
him— lest  he  might  be  asked  to  give  an 
accounting.  Afraid— just  afraid.  And  he 
cannot  laugh  with  his  eyes. 

You  and  I,  with  our  clear  consciences,  would 
not  change  places  with  him  for  all  his  millions 
—and  his  ever-haunting  fear.  The  mills  of  the 
gods,  which  grind  slowly  but  exceeding  fine, 
are  beginning  to  revolve  for  Lawson.  Let  no 
man  envy  him ! 

I  have  read  that  Lawson  is  a  devoted  parent. 
Well,  I  have  seen  him  at  luncheon  with  his 
children.  He  led  the  way  masterfully  down 
the  room.  A  son  and  a  daughter  followed 
him.     They  sat  at  his  table  and  he  ordered  the 

85 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

luncheon.  They  were  not  consulted.  They 
did  not  even  handle  a  menu  card. 

He  had  no  part  to  play  on  that  occasion. 
Across  from  him  was  sitting  no  financier  whose 
mind  Lawson  wished  to  impress  with  his 
omnipotence  in  the  markets;  no  journalist  upon 
whom  he  was  concentrating  his  powers  of 
acting  for  the  reward  of  a  flattering  write-up. 
So  not  even  the  muscles  of  his  face  laughed. 
He  sat  silent,  scowling,  as  is  his  natural  wont. 

The  luncheon  that  he  ordered  was  served 
and  the  trio  fell  to  eating  it.  There  was  no 
badinage  to  lighten  the  meal;  no  conversation 
to  aid  digestion.  Each  ate  quickly,  silently, 
solemnly.  Once  the  little  girl  spoke  to  her 
brother.  She  glanced  sidewise,  affrighted,  at 
her  father,  as  she  did  so.  The  boy  replied  in 
a  monosyllable.  Conversation  halted.  The 
little  girl  looked  toward  the  idle  bill-of-fare. 
I  wondered  what  she  wished.  Perhaps  an  ice 
or  some  form  of  dessert.  She  did  not  ask  for 
it — Lawson  had  ordered  the  meal  and  it  is 
evidently  no  part  of  the  Lawson  domestic 
policy  to  brook  interference  with  his  will. 
She  ate  what  had  been  ordered  for  her — 
silently,  solemnly.     Then  they  all  filed  out. 

Much  has  been  written  by  and  of  Lawson. 

86 


THE   WOLF-PACK  AND  ITS  LEADER 

And  most  of  that  written  about  him  has  been 
as  truly  fiction  as  what  he  himself  writes. 

But  let  no  man  underestimate  Lawson. 
Let  no  man  think,  because  I  am  moved  to 
write  of  him  as  he  is — which  others  have  not 
seemed  to  dare  to  do,  or  else  they  did  not  know, 
— that  I  do  not  appreciate  his  strength.  He  is, 
as  you  have  read,  one  of  the  most  brilliant,  able 
resourceful,  energetic  and  forceful  men  that 
ever  deliberately  set  out  to  win  a  living  by 
gambling  with  stacked  cards.  He  is  am- 
bitious— albeit  it  is  an  ambition  with  which 
honest  men  can  have  no  sympathy.  He  has 
capacity  for  quick  thought  and  ready  action. 

Yes,  he  is  able.  Had  he  chosen  to  be  an 
earner,  instead  of  one  who  takes  the  belongings 
of  others,  I  believe  he  would  have  succeeded 
as  well.  He  is  comparable  to  a  well-built, 
high-geared,  perfectly  assembled  engine,  set 
on  a  track  and  started  to  running  full  speed  in 
the  wrong  direction.  What  he  might  have 
done  had  he  turned  his  abilities  and  energies 
in  the  direction  of  right  and  honesty  no  man 
may  ever  know.  I  believed,  a  year  ago,  that 
he  was  going  to  right-about-face  and  de- 
monstrate this,  but  I  was  mistaken — or  rather, 
deceived. 

87 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

I  had  learned,  early  in  my  days  of  financial 
endeavor,  that  there  are  many  financial 
advisers,  but  few  honest  ones.  I  learned  that 
men  advise  their  own  friends  to  buy  because 
they  themselves  wish  to  sell  at  a  profit;  that 
they  tell  their  friends  the  market  is  going  off 
and  advise  them  to  sell  with  the  decline  because 
they  themselves  wish  to  buy  at  a  lower  price. 
I  learned  that  men  usually  advocated  the  pur- 
chase of  this  or  that  security  because  it  was  a 
security  which  they  wished  to  sell  at  a  price 
incalculably  higher  than  they  paid.  I  learned, 
in  a  word,  that  the  advice  of  the  financier  was 
seldom  given  on  the  merits  of  the  issue  in- 
volved. Whereupon  I  had  determined  to 
inaugurate  a  new  era  of  financial  advice,  to  be 
in  finance  but  not  of  it,  to  build  up  a  clientele 
upon  the  foundation  of  fair  and  honest  counsel. 
Whether  or  not  I  did  so  my  five  thousand 
customers  will  tell  you. 

In  carrying  out  this  policy  I  sought  and 
found  publicity.  It  was  natural,  with  all  my 
years  of  experience  with  newspapers,  that  I 
should  be  a  firm  believer  in  advertising.  I 
issued  circular  letters.  I  published  a  weekly 
newspaper — King's  Financial  Bulletin — and 
later  I  published  a  daily  paper. 

88 


THE   WOLF-PACK  AND   ITS   LEADER 

From  the  beginning,  I  not  only  advised  my 
readers  as  to  investments,  which  in  my  judg- 
ment gave  promise  of  good  return,  but  warned 
them  against  the  evil  catch-penny  promotions 
which  were  set  as  snares  for  their  feet.  I  kept 
in  close  touch  with  financial  affairs,  delving 
into  the  reasons  for  things,  going  behind  the 
scenes  for  talks  with  the  actors,  and  then  set- 
ting down  in  plain,  understandable,  United 
States  English  the  things  that  I  found.  As  a 
result  I  can  not  only  point  to  the  hundreds  of 
thousands  of  dollars  made  by  investors  who 
were  readers  of  what  I  wrote,  but  to  millions  of 
dollars  saved  by  them  because  of  the  warnings 
I  was  able  to  sound  of  the  pitfalls  that  were 
being  dug. 

It  was  inevitable  that  I  should  soon  reach 
Lawson.  It  could  not  be  otherwise.  My  very 
policy  necessitated  that  I  should  write  of  him, 
or  else  be  untrue  to  my  friends,  my  clients  and 
myself. 

I  did  not  go  out  of  my  way  to  attack  him; 
neither  did  I  hesitate  when  that  attack  became 
necessary.  It  became  my  duty,  in  the  pro- 
tection of  the  investors  who  had  come  to  look 
to  me  for  advice,  to  warn  them  against  him;  I 
did  my  duty  in  the  same  spirit  and  manner  in 

89 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

which  I  should  have  warned  my  readers 
against  William  Smith  or  Thomas  Jones,  if 
Smith  or  Jones  had  been  at  that  moment 
arranging  a  campaign  to  separate  honest  in- 
vestors from  their  dollars. 

It  chanced  that  as  the  months  passed  I  had 
more  to  say  about  Lawson  than  about  any 
other  member  of  the  Wolf -Pack.  Some,  un- 
thinkingly, have  supposed  from  this  that  he 
and  I  had  a  personal  feud,  which  is  not  true.  I 
had  to  write  of  Lawson  more  than  of  others 
because  he  was — and  is — the  Leader  of  the 
Pack.  I  had  to  warn  against  him  because  he 
was — and  is — the  arch-type  of  the  heartless 
speculator  who  lures  people  on  to  fruitless 
speculation  and  hopeless  ruin.  If  I  had  more 
to  say  of  him  it  was  because  he  did  more  to 
warrant  criticism,  because  he  was  the  most 
active,  the  most  transparent,  the  most  brazen 
representative  of  the  terrible  system  which,  in 
compliance  with  my  promises  to  my  friends,  I 
must  do  all  I  could  do  to  stamp  out. 

In  considering  the  past,  and  realizing  what 
power  of  Lawson  has  been  exercised  in  my 
direction  as  punishment  for  my  frankness,  I 
cannot  plead  that  I  was  ignorant  of  the 
possible  consequences.     When  I  first  printed 

90 


THE   WOLF-PACK  AND   ITS   LEADER 

Lawson's  name,  with  a  review  of  a  particu- 
larly stenchful  deal  which  he  was  at  that 
moment  engineering,  friends  connected  with 
other  financial  houses  began  to  warn  me. 
They  told  me  I  had  better  confine  my  shafts 
to  smaller  targets  and  let  Lawson  alone. 
They  told  me  he  was  revengeful  and  unscrupu- 
lous— that  he  would  spend  a  fortune,  if  need 
be,  to  punish  any  man  who  interfered  with  his 
schemes — that  he  was  as  guiltless  of  fairness 
in  his  plans  to  crush  as  he  was  of  conscience  in 
his  plans  to  win  gold — that  he  would  hesitate 
at  nothing,  stoop  to  anything,  and  so  cover  his 
tracks  that  it  would  be  an  impossibility  for  me 
to  prove,  when  the  blow  fell,  that  he  dealt  it, 
or  to  even  know  whence  it  came. 

"  Why  do  you  go  out  of  your  way  to  attack 
him  ?"  asked  a  financial  friend.  "  He  is  richer 
than  you.  He  has  a  greater  knowledge  of  the 
financial  game  than  you.  It  will  be  better 
policy  to  leave  him  alone.  Let  him  make  all 
he  can.  He  is  just  catching  the  '  suckers, '  and 
they  deserve  to  lose  for  being  'suckers.'  " 

Here  was  an  argument  I  could  not 
understand.  It  was  the  argument  of  the  man 
in  finance,  inured  to  the  ways  of  the  game  as 
it  is  played  in  "the  Street." 

91 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

"I  am  not  going  out  of  my  way  to  attack 
Lawson,"  I  replied.  "I  am  squarely  in  the 
middle  of  my  road  and  he  is  there  before  me. 
I  have  promised  to  sound  a  warning  whenever 
I  see  a  scheme  rigged  to  rob  investors.  If  I 
went  out  of  my  way  to  go  around  Lawson  be- 
cause he  is  rich,  and  powerful,  and  filled  with 
the  arrogance  of  long  success,  I  would  deserve 
to  fail  in  all  my  lifework.  I  know  he  is  catch- 
ing 'suckers,'  as  you  call  them,  and  it  is  my 
duty  and  work  to  protect  these  same  '  suckers.' 
They're  not  'suckers'  from  choice,  you  know, 
but  because  they  are  deceived  by  the  specious 
words  of  Lawson  and  such  men  as  he,  and 
because  no  one  in  all  the  world  of  finance 
seems  to  have  the  courage  to  explain  to  them 
just  what  such  schemes  as  his  mean." 

My  friend  smiled  tolerantly.  'There's  too 
much  chivalry  in  you,  King,"  he  said. 
"You're  too  much  of  a  Don  Quixote.  When 
you've  run  up  against  the  Lawson  windmill 
once  or  twice  you'll  learn  better." 

"  Cervantes,  with  his  Don  Quixote  and  his 
windmills,  put  an  end  to  foolish  knight- 
errantry,"  I  retorted. 

"Oh,  have  your  own  way,"  he  replied. 
"  It's  none  of  my  business.     Only  if  you  inter- 

92 


THE   WOLF-PACK  AND  ITS  LEADER 

fere  with  Lawson's  game,  and  he  and  his  gang 
'get  you,'  don't  say  that  you  weren't  warned." 

So  you  see  I  wTas  never  ignorant  of  what  it 
might  mean  to  have  Lawson  for  an  enemy. 
I  went  into  the  fray  with  my  eyes  wide  open. 
I  knew  what  might  be  the  result  of  speaking 
truth  about  the  Wolf-Pack  and  its  Leader. 
But — and  of  this  I  am  and  always  shall  be 
proud — I  kept  on  without  deviation,  striking 
blows  for  truth  and  honesty  in  finance  without 
regard  to  how  great,  or  rich,  or  powerful,  or 
revengeful,  might  be  the  man  on  whom  those 
blows  fell. 

On  more  than  one  occasion  after  the  battle 
had  been  squarely  joined,  as  shall  appear  in 
its  proper  place  in  this  book,  overtures  of  peace 
were  made  to  me.  Four  months  after  the  war 
began  I  was  offered  peace,  assistance  and  great 
riches,  with  full  right  to  harry  the  Wolf-Pack 
as  I  chose,  if  I  would  but  cease  to  tell  the  truth 
about  its  chief.  I  refused.  The  only  terms 
on  which  I  would  consider  peace  were  for  the 
gray  lone  wolf  to  relinquish  the  council  rock 
and  turn  his  ways  to  ways  of  honesty.  After 
a  time  those  terms  were  accepted — and  the 
truce  that  followed  broken  as  I  might  have 
known,  from  my  warnings,  it  would  be. 

93 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

Yet,  with  all  the  results  that  have  followed 
my  refusal  to  abandon  the  fight  except  on  my 
own  terms,  I  am  not  sorry  that  I  did  what  I 
did.  Had  I  the  choice  to  make  again  between 
a  costly,  exhausting  battle  for  the  right  and  a 
disgraceful  peace,  I  should  choose  as  I  chose 
then.     I  could  not  do  otherwise. 


94 


Chapter  X 
IN  THE  DAY'S  WORK 

IT  WAS  in  December  of  1904  that  I 
first  made  reference,  in  the  course  of 
my  day's  work,  to  Thomas  W.  Law- 
son  and  his  plans  of  promotion.  It  was  on  the 
occasion  when  he  and  Colonel  "  Bill  "  Greene 
were  engaged  in  the  opera  bouffe  quarrel, 
which  had  for  an  exciting  incident  an  exchange 
of  notes  that  threatened  gun-play,  and  ended 
with  a  w^ell-advertised  conference  at  the  Hotel 
Touraine  at  which  champagne  corks  rattled 
like  musketry. 

It  was  a  cleverly  managed  advertising  cam- 
paign, and  the  public,  enticed  by  the  publicity 
of  the  supposed  quarrel,  was  paying  a  profit- 
able amount  of  attention  to  the  tips  that 
Lawson  was  printing  each  day.  I  felt  it  my 
duty  to  sound  a  note  of  warning  and  did  so  in 
advertisements  printed  in  the  Boston  news- 
papers on  December  15  and  December  17. 
A  quotation  from  my  words  of  the  latter  date, 
in  the  light  of  history,  will  go  far  to  prove 
whether  or  not  what  I  said  was  good: 

95 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

In  the  wild,  frenzied  warfare  of  this  week,  the  air  has 
been  laden  with  such  epithets  as  "liar,"  "faker," 
"charlatan,"  "blackguard,"  "squealer,"  "fraud," 
"pirate,"  and  other  equally  uncomplimentary  terms, 
which  have  been  vigorously  hurled  at  each  other  by 
the  generals,  or  would-be  generals,  in  command  of 
the  unseemly  squirmish.  I  have  figured  in  the  fight 
to  a  sufficient  extent,  in  length  and  depth,  to  know  that 
men  go  into  the  battle  for  personal  gain — that  friend  and 
foe  are  alike  mowed  down,  without  regard  to  past, 
present  or  future  relations  or  conditions — and  I  have 
arrived  at  the  conclusion  that  there  is  only  one  thing 
that  is  sure  and  certain  in  connection  with  the  whole 
wild,  frenzied  stock  market,  and  that  one  thing  is  that 
somewhere  in  this  fair  land,  between  the  rising  and 
setting  of  the  sun  each  day,  at  least  one  soul  is  made  to 
cry  out  in  agony  and  despair  and  seek  rest  in  a  suicide's 
grave.  I  have  come  to  the  conclusion  that  to  "  play  the 
market"  when  the  red  flag  of  anarchy  is  unfurled  to 
the  breeze  is  to  play  with  fire.  I  claim  and  proclaim 
boldly  that  men  go  into  the  fight  for  personal  gain  and 
trample  beneath  their  feet  both  the  strong  and  the  weak, 
without  feeling  and  without  pity. 

To  those,  therefore,  who  follow  my  advice,  I  say: 

"  Clear  off  the  field  of  battle.  There  is  danger  even 
on  the  outskirts  of  the  wild,  frenzied  stock  market. 
Invest  your  money  in  securities  which  cannot  be 
reached  or  affected  by  the  tissue  bulletins  now  being 
hurled  in  every  direction.  Let  all  speculative  securities 
severely  alone.  By  doing  this,  you  will  not  be  called 
upon  to  contribute  to  the  support  of  the  two  great  armies 

90 


IN  THE  DAY'S  WORK 

now  arrayed  in  battle  for  whose  support  somebody  must 
contribute  and  contribute  dearly." 

A  little  niore  than  a  month  later  Lawson 
began  one  of  his  periodical  campaigns  in  the 
stock  of  the  Trinity  Copper  Company.  It  is 
doubtful  if  one  of  you  who  read  these  words 
is  entirely  unfamiliar  with  the  ruin  and  misery 
that  have  been  caused  by  the  will-o'-the-wisp 
of  Trinity,  flashing  across  the  speculative  bogs 
under  the  guidance  of  this  Boston  manipulator, 
and  yet  you  have  no  comprehension  of  the 
sum  total  of  horror  that  may  be  credited  to 
the  periodical  touting  of  this  stock.  I  shall 
have  occasion  to  refer  to  Trinity  on  several 
occasions  before  my  task  of  enlightenment  is 
done  and  to  tell  of  the  hundreds  and  thousands 
of  people  who  have  been  ruined  and  robbed  by 
means  of  it. 

In  the  light  of  subsequent  events  there  is  no 
word  that  I  ever  wrote  of  which  I  feel  the  right 
to  be  more  proud  than  this  warning,  which  I 
sent  broadcast  through  the  medium  of  my 
Bulletin  and  the  big  newspapers,  over  date 
of  January  31,  1905,  at  a  time  when,  by  fair 
words  and  promises  impossible  of  fulfillment, 
Lawson  was  assembling  the  lambs  for  the 
shearing : 

97 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

TO  TRINITY  STOCKHOLDERS 

The  Trinity  Copper  Company  was  incorporated 
under  the  laws  of  the  State  of  New  Jersey,  for  $6,000,000 
October  18,  1900. 

The  company's  mining  property,  smelting  plant,  and 
other  assets  are  located  in  Shasta  County,  California. 

Since  the  organization  of  this  company  its  stock  has 
been  a  favorite  market  football. 

There  is  always  something  doing  in  Trinity.  Some- 
times it  is  up,  sometimes  it  is  down,  sometimes  it  is 
on,  sometimes  it  is  off. 

Several  hundred  investors  asked  my  advice  respecting 
Trinity  during  the  past  two  months,  and  the  advice  I 
have  given  one  and  all  has  been  something  like  this: 

First:  If  I  did  not  own  any  Trinity  stock  I  would  not 
buy  any. 

Second:  If  I  did  own  any  Trinity  stock  I  would  sell  it. 

Six  weeks  or  more  passed,  during  which  the 
shearing  of  the  Trinity  lambs  was  consum- 
mated with  neatness  and  despatch  and  other 
schemes  to  separate  the  investing  public  from 
its  money  were  developed  and  put  into  effect. 
The  rumor  factory,  inseparable  from  the 
campaigns  of  the  market  manipulators,  began 
to  work  overtime  in  the  manufacture  of  talk 
that  a  dividend  was  likely  to  be  paid  upon 
Steel  Common,  that  there  was  some  inside 
reason  for  an  increase  in  the  quotations   of 

98 


IN  THE  DAY'S  WORK 

Amalgamated,  and  that  some  mysterious  ad- 
vance was  to  take  place  in  the  value  of  Copper 
Range.  This  last  was  at  that  moment  a 
Lawson  advertising  subject,  and  I  discussed 
it  in  advertisements  over  date  of  March  11  in 
combination  with  the  other  schemes  to  entrap 
regarding  which  I  felt  it  my  duty  to  give 
warning. 

My  readers  will  understand  that  these 
advertisements  which  I  am  quoting  were  by 
no  means  the  only  ones  I  was  publishing — 
that  these  warnings  were  not  the  only  ones  I 
was  giving.  They  were,  to  again  use  the 
phrase  that  occurs  at  the  beginning  of  this 
chapter,  merely  in  the  day's  work,  which  pro- 
vided for  warnings  against  all  pitfalls  for  the 
unwary  investor.  I  did  not  go  out  of  my  way 
to  show  up  the  Lawson  schemes  any  more 
than  I  went  out  of  my  way  to  show  up  the 
schemes  of  any  other  of  the  market  manipu- 
lators whose  advice  and  counsel  were  likely  to 
work  havoc  with  the  savings  of  the  people. 
From  week  to  week  I  took  up  the  schemes  to 
prey  and  exposed  or  advised  against  them. 

Lawson  has  said,  I  am  told,  as  some  pallia- 
tion of  his  attempted  massacre  under  a  flag  of 
truce,  that  I  had  always  gone  out  of  my  way 

99 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

to  "get  after"  him.  It  seems  to  me  I  have 
read  in  the  statements  of  many  a  criminal  that 
same  charge  against  the  policeman  who 
captured  him.  It  is  usually  not  true  in 
the  criminal's  case;  the  policeman  merely 
arrests  him  in  the  course  of  duty.  It  is  equally 
not  true  in  this  case;  my  duty  was  to  warn 
investors,  whether  the  trap  into  which  they  were 
walking  wTas  built  by  the  hand  of  John  W. 
Gates  or  Bill  Smith,  Joe  Brown  or  Thomas 
W.  Laws  on. 

At  any  moment  when  Lawson  had  ceased  to 
rig  up  schemes  to  rob  the  public  I  would  have 
ceased  all  uncomplimentary  reference  to  him. 
This  is  proven  by  the  fact  that  when,  as  has 
once  been  referred  to  and  will  appear  in  detail 
in  its  proper  place,  he  begged  for  a  truce, 
promising  to  "  go  and  sin  no  more,"  I  did  cease 
my  attacks. 

This  was  the  advertisement  referred  to, 
which  appeared  on  March  11,  1905,  over  my 
signature : 

UNITED  STATES  STEEL,  COPPER  RANGE 
AND  AMALGAMATED 

I  am  preparing,  and  shall  send  to  press  Tuesday,  a 
special  market  letter  dealing  with  the  present  condition 

100 


IN  THE   DAY'S   WORK 

of  the  stock  market,  and  especially  with  the  notice- 
able rise  in  the  quotations  on  United  States  Steel, 
Copper  Range  and  Amalgamated.  I  claim  that 
nothing  happened  accidentally,  but  rather,  there  is  a 
cause  for  everything  that  happens,  and  in  my  letter 
I  shall  point  out  in  a  plain,  old-fashioned,  common- 
sense  way  just  why,  according  to  my  own  way  of  looking 
at  things,  the  present  high  prices  obtain  for  certain 
stocks  which  were  selling  only  a  few  weeks  ago  at  prices 
not  far  in  advance  of  their  real  value. 

I  believe  that  I  shall  be  able  to  make  it  perfectly 
clear  to  all  thinking  persons  that  the  inspired  rumor 
to  the  effect  that  a  dividend  is  likely  to  be  paid  soon 
on  Steel  Common  is  the  rankest  sort  of  nonsense. 

I  shall  endeavor  to  point  out,  in  a  clear  and  con- 
vincing manner,  just  why  Steel  Common  has  continued 
to  advance  in  price  from  week  to  week  for  three  months, 
with  a  regularity  and  faithfulness  akin  to  that  of  a  good 
soldier  obeying  the  orders  of  his  general.  I  shall 
analyze  carefully  Amalgamated  Copper,  and  believe 
that  the  facts  which  I  shall  set  down  for  consideration 
will  prove  of  interest  to  investors. 

I  shall  have  much  to  say  about  the  contradictory 
advice  given  to  investors  during  the  past  six  months 
by  Mr.  Thomas  W.  Lawson,  of  Boston,  in  his  present 
contemplated  advertising  campaign  in  the  interest  of 
Copper  Range.  I  shall  quote  from  his  public  announce- 
ment of  January  3,  wherein  he  cried  aloud  that  the 
people  "owe  to  themselves  not  to  invest  any  more  of 
their  savings,"  because  of  the  awful  things  that  were 
sure  to  happen.     I  shall  show  that  he  stated  a  little 

101 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

more  than  two  months  ago,  emphatically  and  with 
positive  assurance,  that  one  of  the  listed  securities 
would  drop  in  price  from  $80  to  $50  per  share  in  a 
single  day,  and  that  the  cause  of  its  decline  would  bring 
about  a  tremendous  drop  in  all  other  stocks,  unless 
they  had  previously  fallen.  I  shall  show  that  by 
printed  proclamations  he  called  aloud  to  investors  and 
speculators  throughout  the  country  to  clear  out  of  the 
stock  market  and  not  to  reinvest  their  money  in  "  stocks 
or  any  bonds  of  less  safety  than  government,  or  first- 
class  city  or  state  or  other  absolutely  unassailable  bonds." 
In  printed  proclamations  to-day,  in  language  just 
as  positive  and  with  equal  assurance,  Mr.  Lawson 
has  much  to  say  about  Copper  Range  Consolidated, 
and  unqualifiedly  advises  its  purchase  for  cash  or 
upon  margin.  In  his  proclamation  the  statement  is 
made  that  he  has  picked  Copper  Range  to  sell  as  high 
as  225  in  the  immediate  future,  and  he  strongly  urges 
all  investors  and  speculators  to  get  aboard  the  band 
wTagon.  In  my  letter  I  shall  write  down  some  of  the 
things  known  to  me  about  Copper  Range,  and  I  shall 
point  out,  in  a  thoroughly  proper,  legal  and  legitimate 
manner,  the  reasons  for  this  sudden  sounding  of  the 
tom-toms  on  State  Street  in  its  behalf. 

I  have  been  told  that  as  far  back  as  these 
advertisements  Lawson  raged  and  promised 
his  intimates  that  the  time  would  come  when 
he  would  get  square  with  me  for  daring  to 
criticise  him  and  his  methods.     It  was  not, 

102 


IN    THE    DAY'S    WORK 

however,  until  a  warning  of  mine  stopped  one 
of  his  campaigns  in  which  he  had  anticipated 
a  gigantic  "killing"  that  he  set  his  legions 
at  work  to  drive  me  out  of  business,  stop  my 
mouth  and  pen,  and  land  me,  as  he  said, 
"either  in  jail  or  a  suicide's  grave." 


103 


Chapter  XI 
AN  UNSAVORY  BOOM 

THESE  warnings  which  I  have  recounted 
brought  profit  to  investors.  With 
whether  or  not  they  brought  discomfort 
to  Lawson  I  had  nothing  to  do.  They 
were  true,  justice  to  investors  demanded  that 
the  facts  be  told,  and  it  was  in  pursuance  of 
my  settled  policy  to  do  justice  to  investors 
that  I  told  them. 

Weeks  and  months  passed  and  there  arose 
no  occasion  for  me  to  criticise  the  master 
craftsman  of  speculation.  I  continued  on  the 
even  tenor  of  my  way.  When  I  saw  a  plan  to 
steal  I  exposed  it.  When  I  saw  a  fair  and 
proper  investment  I  advised  it.  My  clientele 
grew  daily  larger  and  more  influential.  My 
financial  house,  builded  on  the  rock  of  fair- 
dealing,  flourished.  More  than  a  year  and  a 
half  passed  before  duty  bade  me  write  the 
article  that  first  really  set  Lawson  and  the  Pack 
howling  at  my  heels.  It  was  an  article  written 
and  published  in  my  King's  Financial  Bulletin 
under  date  of  November  24,  1906. 

104 


AN  UNSAVORY  BOOM 

There  was  afoot  a  scheme  to  induce  the 
public  to  buy  stock  in  the  Arcadian  Copper 
Company  at  from  $8.50  to  $15  a  share.  The 
men  behind  the  scheme  had  chosen  Lawson 
to  handle  the  publicity.  In  a  series  of  cleverly 
worded  advertisements  he  had  advised  the 
purchase  of  x\rcadian,  and  the  public  had 
begun  to  listen. 

Now  if  nobodv  had  been  concerned  in  this 

t/ 

piece  of  market-rigging  but  speculators,  I 
should  undoubtedly  have  remained  silent.  I 
have  never  felt  it  to  be  my  duty  to  assist 
speculators,  having  little  sympathy  with  them 
or  their  losses.  But  in  this  advertising  cam- 
paign it  was  being  cried  loudly  that  here  was  a 
magnificent  opportunity  for  investment — that 
at  approximately  $15  a  share  Arcadian  was  a 
great  "bargain" — that  the  investor  who  did 
not  straightway  withdraw  his  funds  from  all 
other  places  and  put  them  into  Arcadian  was 
doing  himself  an  injustice  that  he  would  long 
regret. 

My  investigations  into  the  highways  and 
byways  of  finance  had  given  me  something 
more  than  a  superficial  knowledge  of  what  was 
going  on  in  Arcadian.  I  knew  what  this  game 
meant.     I   could   not   do   otherwise,   in   pur- 

105 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR   CANDLES 

suance  of  my  policy,  than  give  voice  to  my 
knowledge. 

So  I  wrote  of  things  as  they  were,  and  what 
here  follows  is  a  considerable  portion  of  my 
article  which  appeared  in  King's  Financial 
Bulletin  and  by  saving  many  an  innocent  lamb 
from  the  shambles  won  for  me  the  revengeful 
hate  of  those  who  were  ready  for  the  kill. 

Within  a  few  days  the  quotations  on  Arcad- 
ian dropped.  They  have  never  since  risen 
substantially,  and  on  the  day  on  which  I  write 
this  chapter — July  30,  1908 — the  quotation  of 
Arcadian  on  the  Boston  Stock  Exchange  is 
$4.25  a  share.  This  furnishes  some  illumina- 
tion as  to  whether  my  advice  was  good  or  bad ; 
as  to  whether  the  Arcadian  boom  was  a  great 
opportunity  for  investors  or  a  cleverly  arranged 
and  well-manipulated  confidence  game. 

I  wrote  as  follows: 

The  warming-over  of  the  colossal  Arcadian  failure 
has  been  the  conspicuous  feature  of  the  great  gambling 
exchange  in  State  Street,  Boston,  for  the  past  two  weeks. 
So  far-reaching  will  be  the  effect  of  this  latest  game  to 
separate  the  public  from  its  money ;  so  insidious  are  the 
elements  of  the  scheme,  and  so  vital  a  matter  is  it  to 
those  with  funds  to  invest  that  I  deem  it  far  above  a 
matter  of  local  importance  and  worthy  of  careful  dis- 
cussion in  King's  Financial  Bulletin. 

106 


AN  UNSAVORY  BOOM 

This  Arcadian  warming-over  is  no  ordinary  financial 
trick,  remember.  It  is  being  engineered  by  some  of 
the  cleverest  schemers  in  the  United  States,  and  that 
it  will  entrap  thousands  of  unsuspecting  men  and  women, 
especially  those  who  unfortunately  have  dealings  with 
the  stock  exchanges,  is  thoroughly  to  be  expected.  But 
if  any  words  of  mine  can  shed  the  much  needed  light 
in  dark  places  and  show  investors  the  folly  of  ever  again 
trusting  the  Arcadian  bubble,  I  shall  consider  that  my 
duty  has  been  well  performed. 

The  present  unsavory  boom  for  this  thrice  unsavory 
stock  began  along  in  the  early  part  of  November.  All 
at  once  there  sprang  into  the  arena  of  publicity  Mr. 
Thomas  W.  Lawson,  a  man  who  has  been  connected 
with  Arcadian,  at  least  so  far  as  its  speculative  fortunes 
were  concerned,  ever  since  the  days  of  its  infancy.  Mr. 
Lawson  claims  to  have  been  defrauded  and  swindled 
in  Arcadian  by  powers  higher  than  he. 

Of  that  I  cannot  say  with  authority,  but  I  do  know 
that  whether  Mr.  Lawson  or  Mr.  Burrage,  the  presi- 
dent of  the  company,  has  been  at  fault,  there  have  been 
few  such  fathomless  pits  opened  up  for  the  money  of 
the  people  since  the  days  of  the  South  Sea  swindle.  At 
any  rate,  the  man  who  has  publicly  begun  the  present 
attempt  to  inflate  the  worthless  Arcadian  stock  so  that 
it  may  soar  higher  and  higher  in  the  market  to  the 
ultimate  destruction  of  those  who  cling  to  it,  is  Mr. 
Lawson. 

The  advertisements  set  forth  by  this  most  aggressive 
of  Boston  financiers  began  with  the  strenuous  plea  to 
"hold   Arcadian."     Certain  reasons  were  given  why 

107 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

this  should  be  done,  persuasive,  plausible,  no  doubt, 
to  people  who  were  not  acquainted  with  the  stench  and 
rottenness  of  the  former  Arcadian  delusion. 

I  do  not  know  whether  Mr.  Lawson  is  a  part  of  the 
principal  of  this  great  scheme  to  warm-over  the  un- 
palatable remains  of  a  former  feast,  nor  do  I  care.  The 
fact  remains,  whether  he  is  with  or  against  Mr.  Burrage 
in  this  particular  scheme,  that  the  public  is  to  be 
milked.  There  is  nothing  else  under  heaven  in  the 
extraordinary  campaign  now  being  carried  on  to  boost 
the  price  of  the  tottering  wreck  that  has  before  ruined 
so  many  people  of  moderate  means. 

Of  course,  in  this  great  plot  to  unload  upon  the  public 
of  New  England,  there  is  printed  the  usual  bait.  It  is 
hinted  in  no  uncertain  terms  that  the  great  "Baltic 
lode"  has  been  discovered  underneath  some  of  the 
Arcadian  property,  and  this  notwithstanding  the  fact 
that  only  recently  the  very  best  of  all  the  Arcadian 
holdings  were  sold  to  Quincy  for  $750,000.  Thus 
stripped  and  denuded  of  everything  of  value,  the 
Arcadian  mines  are  still  held  forth  as  of  glittering  and 
golden  promise.  If  there  was  ever  a  worse  caricature 
upon  candor  and  honesty  in  all  this  world,  I  would  like 
to  be  informed  as  to  its  details. 

That  this  warming-over  of  the  cold  Arcadian  scraps 
is  merely  a  bit  of  culinary  stock- jobbing,  there  are  ample 
proofs.  What,  for  instance,  does  the  enormous  activity 
in  the  stock  as  exhibited  in  the  Boston  gambling 
exchange  signify  ?  Does  it  mean  that  genuine  sales  are 
being  made  to  people  with  real  money  to  invest  ? 
Scarcely;  else  how  do  we  account  for  the  fact  that  in 

108 


AN  UNSAVORY  BOOM 

the  week  of  November  10  to  17,  inclusive,  60,088 
shares  of  Arcadian  stock  were  dealt  in,  when  there  are 
only  150,000  shares  in  existence  in  the  whole  world? 
And  how  do  we  account  for  the  fact  that  on  Monday, 
November  19,  no  less  than  36,333  shares  more  changed 
hands  in  that  farcical  and  utterly  deceptive  manner 
characteristic  of  the  stock  exchange  ? 

Even  to-day.  as  I  write  this,  the  wild  crowds  of 
frenetic  gamblers  are  shouting  around  the  Arcadian 
pole  and  bandying  back  and  forth  with  no  pretence 
whatever  of  either  obtaining  or  losing  actual  owner- 
ship, thousands  more  of  these  Arcadian  shares. 

What  does  it  all  signify?  Does  it  mean  honest 
transactions  in  an  honest  stock?  Not  the  slightest  in 
the  world.  It  means  "wash  sales. "  It  means  frauds 
and  fakes  and  swindles  for  the  purpose  of  making 
Arcadian  stand  higher  in  the  stock  exchange  report, 
and  thereby  inducing  the  ever-ready  "lambs"  to  crowd 
in  and  receive  their  part  of  the  shearing. 

And  yet  you  may  put  this  down  as  gospel  truth :  that 
wherever  there  is  a  genuine  sale  of  any  considerable 
block  of  stock,  the  real  seller  is  an  insider  who  has 
been  loaded  up  for  years  with  the  worthless  truck  and  is 
now,  without  a  glimmer  of  conscience  or  one  spark  of 
remorse,  endeavoring  to  make  good  by  throwing  the 
useless  rubbish  into  somebody  else's  treasury  chest,  he 
cares  not  whose  nor  where. 

That  the  artificiality  of  the  boom  and  its  evident 
intent  to  inveigle  the  people  are  well  recognized,  the 
following  description  of  the  doings  of  November  19, 
from  the  Boston  Advertiser,  very  clearly  shows : 

109 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

"The  manipulation  of  Arcadian  continued,  and  the 
stock  advanced  to  15,  closing  at  1434.  Trading  was 
very  heavy.  Floor  brokers  reported  that  the  same 
tactics  were  used  as  on  Saturday,  but  to  a  somewhat 
smaller  extent.  They  reported  a  considerable  demand 
for  the  stock  from  outside  sources,  which  is  the  strangest 
feature  of  the  movement.  Considering  the  history  of 
Arcadian,  it  would  not  have  seemed  possible  that  the 
public  could  have  been  induced  to  purchase  the  stock 
again.  No  flotation  in  recent  years  has  cost  the  public 
so  much  money  as  Arcadian.  Those  who  listen  to  the 
bullish  talk  now  current  should  recall  that  the  same 
siren  talked  in  the  same  way  some  years  ago. " 

Ah,  yes.  The  same  siren  talked  and  it  talked  to 
good  advantage  for  the  promoters  and  the  stock-jobbers 
who  foisted  worthless  Arcadian  upon  the  people.  It 
talked  to  such  advantage  that  in  1899  the  Arcadian 
stock  reached  the  astounding  figures  of  9534>  almost 
300  per  cent  above  par,  and  that,  too,  when  not  one 
dollar  of  dividends  had  ever  been  paid  and  not  one 
dollar  of  dividends  was  in  prospect. 

That  was  the  siren  talk  of  those  days,  and  when,  in 
1904,  the  Arcadian  dream  had  come  to  a  close  and  its 
collapsed  and  worthless  stock  was  not  wanted  at  twenty- 
five  cents  a  share,  then,  I  say,  those  people  who  had 
listened  to  the  siren  knew  the  bitterness  of  the  song  and 
rued  the  day  they  had  ever  listened  to  it. 

And  now  the  same  old  attempt  to  do  the  same  old 
thing  is  enormously  in  evidence.  Promises,  predic- 
tions, mysterious  holdings,  all  the  carefully  prepared 
paraphernalia  of  inflation  are  to  be  seen  every  day. 

110 


AN  UNSAVORY  BOOM 

Mr.  Lawson,  in  his  big  advertisements  does  not  hesitate 
to  say:  "I  repeat:  I  do  not  see  why  Arcadian  should 
not  sell  at  50,  75,  100." 

Does  the  average  man  understand  what  that  means  ? 
Does  he  realize  that  100  means  400  (for  Arcadian  is  a 
$25  par  stock)  ?  Does  he  stop  to  think  that  there  is 
nothing  whatever  back  of  such  a  grossly  absurd  state- 
ment as  that  ?  Why,  Arcadian  must  needs  be  another 
Calumet  &  Hecla  or  a  Rio  Tinto  or  a  Tamarack  to 
justify  any  such  figures,  when  the  solemn  truth  is  that 
Arcadian  is  a  stripped  and  impoverished  mine,  most  of 
her  machinery  pawned  and  gone,  all  her  activities 
stopped  and  nothing  but  the  mere  cock-and-bull  story 
of  the  discovery  of  a  great  lode  to  build  any  hope 
whatever  upon. 

Even  if  there  is  a  lode,  there  will  be  no  money  in  the 
treasury  to  work  it,  and  Arcadian  must  find  the  cash 
somewhere,  either  through  more  desperate  borrowings 
or  a  call  upon  the  stockholders.  You  will  not  find,  I 
fancy,  either  Mr.  Burrage  or  Mr.  Lawson  or  any  other 
of  the  eminent  gentlemen  engaged  in  the  pleasant  game 
of  booming  Arcadian — you  will  not  find  them  going 
down  into  their  pockets  and  furnishing  the  where- 
withal for  the  operations  of  a  played-out  mine. 

In  the  mostly  fictitious  uplift  of  Arcadian  from  the 
time  its  latest  boom  began  in  the  stock  exchange  until 
this  present  hour  of  writing,  the  total  advance  in  its 
alleged  price  has  been  about  nine  points;  that  is  to  say, 
the  highest  figure  it  reached  before  Tuesday,  November 
20,  was  a  fraction  above  fifteen.  Think  of  that;  a  stock 
selling  for  over  half  its  par  value  and  at  the  same  time 

111 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

having  absolutely  no  intrinsic  worth  back  of  it  to  make 
it  even  square  up  with  a  single  dollar  bill. 

Regard  the  colossal  effrontery  of  the  manipulators 
of  this  discredited  stuff  in  venturing  to  indicate,  even  by 
the  untruthful  quotations  on  the  Boston  stock  exchange, 
that  Arcadian  was  worthy  of  purchase  at  any  such 
figure  as  $15. 

In  the  creed  of  honest  and  honorable  men  it  is  always 
written  that  there  must  be  something  behind  a  stock  to 
guarantee  in  some  measure  the  price  for  which  the 
unsuspecting  public  is  asked  to  buy  it.  In  the  case  of 
Arcadian,  there  is  nothing  but  deserted  mines,  ruined 
machinery  and  the  ever-recurring  mysterious  hint  of 
the  great  and  wonderful  "  Baltic  lode. " 

And  yet,  as  I  have  said  before,  this  stock  has  advanced 
since  the  beginning  of  the  warming-over  to  the  amount 
of  about  nine  dollars  per  share,  and  although  the  vast 
majority  of  the  sales  upon  the  stock  exchange  have 
undoubtedlv  been  fraudulent  and  fictitious  articles  of 
"wash,"  yet  it  is  to  be  feared  that,  in  this  carefully 
nourished  advance,  hundreds  if  not  thousands  of 
people  without  special  knowledge  of  the  trickery  have 
been  involved  in  the  meshes  of  the  Arcadian  net  and 
will,  ere  long,  be  struggling  to  free  themselves  when 
they  find  that  they  are  being  drawn  out  of  their  natural 
element  into  a  region  where  they  must  either  give  up 
all  they  possess  or  perish. 

That  is  the  saddest  phase  of  the  whole  campaign  of 
manipulation.  If  the  big  men  in  the  market  were 
merely  to  rend  and  tear  one  another  I  would  have  no 
fault  to  find,  nor  would  the  ordinary  citizen  care  a  rap 

112 


AN  UNSAVORY  BOOM 

about  the  whole  struggle,  but  when  there  is  added  to 
the  pretended  combat  of  giants  the  blood  of  innocent 
victims  who  stand  between  in  the  fray,  then  it  is  time 
to  raise  a  protest  and  to  utter  such  words  of  warning  as 
may  best  fit  the  subject. 

With  all  my  heart  I  trust  I  have  made  this  Arcadian 
matter  clear,  so  that  what  I  have  written  will  prevent 
many  from  being  offered  as  living  sacrifices  to  an  unholy 
alliance. 

Out  into  the  homes  and  business  places  of 
America  went  this  graphic  expose  of  Arcadian 
through  the  medium  of  King's  Financial  Bul- 
letin. The  investing  public,  warned  of  the  pit 
before  it,  refused  to  be  decoyed.  The  unsa- 
vory Arcadian  boom  collapsed.  And  the  high 
priests  of  Kali,  disappointed  in  the  toll  of 
victims  they  had  intended  to  sacrifice  to  the 
ten-armed  goddess,  put  up  my  name  in  their 
temples  and  straightway  came  frothing  and 
foaming  after  my  heart's  blood. 

From  that  moment  I  was  a  marked  man. 
The  cord  of  the  chief  Strangler  was  aimed  at 
my  neck.  Desperate,  he  determined  that  I 
must  be  removed.  He  assembled  his  dev- 
otees and  his  slaves.  He  gave  the  necessary 
orders.  The  machinery  of  the  craft  began 
to  revolve.  I  did  not  know  it  for  many  days, 
but  the  fiat  had  gone  forth.     I  must  be  put 

113 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

out  of  the  way  by  foul  means,  since  fair  means 
could  not  hope  to  accomplish  the  results. 

Since  that  day  they  have  caused  me  to 
suffer  almost  intolerable  pain  and  sorrow. 
They  caused  me  losses  that,  with  those  not  due 
to  them  but  to  the  panic  that  befell  at  a 
moment  that  could  not  have  served  them  better 
if  they  had  helped  to  make  it,  aggregate  nearly 
a  million  dollars.  They  made  captive  of  my 
health — almost  of  my  reason  and  of  life  itself. 
They  came  within  a  breathless  margin  of 
winning  the  fight,  of  driving  me,  as  the  Master 
Thug  promised,  to  prison  or  a  suicide's  grave. 
They  set  back  the  cause  of  honest-dealing  in 
finance  months — perhaps  years.  And  all  for 
speaking  words  of  Truth  that  stopped  them 
from  stealing  a  few  more  dollars. 

"Behold,  how  great  a  matter  a  little  fire 
kindleth." 


114 


Chapter  XII 
A  BLOW  IN  THE  DARK 

THE  issue  of  Kings  Financial  Bulletin 
containing  this  exposure  of  the  Arcadian 
bubble  was  dated  Saturday,  November 
24.  In  order  that  the  paper  might  be  in  the 
hands  of  its  readers  by  the  date  of  publication, 
so  that  people  whose  work  occupied  all  their 
week-day  time  might  have  Sunday  for  its 
perusal,  it  was  the  custom  to  send  it  to  press  on 
each  Thursday.  Thus  this  number  went  to 
press  and  the  copies  began  to  be  run  off  and 
delivered  on  Thursday,  November  22. 

On  Friday  morning,  November  23,  as  I  sat 
at  breakfast,  the  Boston  morning  papers  were 
brought  to  me  and  laid  beside  my  plate.  Be- 
tween sips  of  coffee  I  turned  to  the  financial 
pages.  There,  in  several  of  them— there  were 
one  or  two  which  would  not  lend  their  col- 
umns to  this  sort  of  thing  and  had  refused  to 
accept  the  proffered  "copy"— appeared  an 
advertisement,  occupying  a  large  space  and 
conspicuously  displayed.  It  read  as  fol- 
lows : 

115 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

NOTICE  TO  HOLDERS  OF  NORTON  OIL, 

DOUGLAS  COPPER  OR  KING- 

CROWTHER  STOCK 

All  persons  who  have  had  dealings  in  any  of  the  above 
stocks  are  requested  to  write  to  the  undersigned,  giving 
the  amount  and  cost  of  their  shares,  the  person  to  whom 
their  money  was  paid,  how  they  were  induced  to  pur- 
chase, and  particularly  if  the  United  States  mail  in  any 
way  entered  into  the  transaction  and  how. 

COAKLEY,  COAKLEY  &  SHERMAN, 

Counsellors-at-Law, 
20  Pemberton  Square,  Boston. 

I  gasped  with  astonishment  and,  pushing 
the  remainder  of  my  breakfast  from  me, 
hastened  to  my  office.  There  I  endeavored 
to  get  in  touch  with  persons  who  might  know 
what  it  all  meant. 

The  name  of  the  attorneys  signed  to  the 
advertisement  meant  little.  The  Coakleys, 
"Dan"  and  "Tim,"  are  brilliant  young  men 
who  were  once  connected  with  newspapers, 
read  law,  became  admitted  to  the  bar,  and 
have  built  up  a  large  practice  and  become 
financially  independent — principally  through 
the  medium  of  accident  cases.  They  have 
developed  the  collecting  of  such  cases  to  a 
science,  and  I  have  heard  that  more  than  two- 
thirds  of  all  the  suits  for  accident  damages 

116 


A  BLOW  IN  THE  DARK 

brought  against  the  Boston  Elevated  Rail- 
road bear  their  names  on  the  writs.  This,  as 
may  be  readily  seen,  must  be  extremely  profit- 
able, as  it  places  the  firm  in  a  position  to  try 
some  cases,  discontinue  others  and  settle 
others  out  of  court,  and  so  brilliant  a  pair  as 
the  Coakleys  may  be  depended  upon  not  to 
lose  money  in  the  operation.  I  presume  there 
is  a  Sherman.  It  is  rather  immaterial,  because 
when  "Coakley,  Coakley  &  Sherman"  are 
under  discussion,  it  is  always  brilliant  "Dan" 
or  brilliant  "Tim"  whose  personality  the 
talk  turns  upon. 

Incidentally  the  Coakleys  have  been  at  one 
time  and  another  active  in  politics.  At  the 
time  of  which  I  write  "Tim"  Coakley  had 
just  finished  a  very  strenuous  participation  in 
the  Massachusetts  state  campaign,  appearing 
publicly  on  a  number  of  occasions  in  behalf 
of  District  Attorney  John  B.  Moran,  who  had 
made  a  strikingly  energetic  fight  as  the 
Democratic  nominee  for  Governor.  So  you 
see  that  whoever  was  back  of  this  advertise- 
ment had  retained  the  services  of  a  firm  of 
attorneys  who  could  be  depended  upon  to 
hustle,  to  use  printer's  ink  to  good  advantage 
— and  not  to  be  too  squeamish  about  whether 

117 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

what  they  were  doing  was  ethically  right  or 
wrong. 

Every  reader  at  all  familiar  with  my  business 
at  that  time  will  appreciate  the  purpose  and 
deadly  import  of  this  advertisement.  King- 
Crowther,  Norton  Oil  and  Douglas  Copper 
were  three  companies  with  the  sale  of  whose 
securities  I  had  been  especially  identified. 
That  they  were  in  a  highly  sound  and  satis- 
factory condition  had  nothing  to  do  with  the 
possibility  of  injury  in  such  an  advertisement. 
It  would  be  evident  to  a  child  that  the  intent 
of  whoever  was  back  of  the  attack  was  to 
deceive  the  public  into  thinking  that  I  had 
been  defrauding  investors  in  my  representa- 
tions as  to  this  stock.  It  was  the  evident  hope 
that  I  would  be  seriously  injured.  The  scheme 
was  to  cause  investors  to  besiege  my  office 
crying  for  a  return  of  their  money,  hoping 
thereby  to  embarrass  me,  or  to  prevent  me 
from  selling  any  more  of  the  securities  of  the 
companies  named. 

The  reference  to  the  United  States  mail  was 
particularly  deadly  in  intent.  Practically 
everybody  knows,  in  these  days,  that  a  great 
many  people  who  pursue  questionable  busi- 
nesses can  be  stopped  only  by  means  of  the 

118 


A  BLOW  IN  THE  DARK 

safeguards  that  the  government  throws  about 
the  use  of  the  mails.  There  is  many  a  scheme 
to  defraud  which  does  not  violate  any  law, 
either  state  or  national,  at  least  until  it  has 
become  effective  and  the  damage  has  been 
done.  To  protect  its  citizens,  as  well  as  to 
punish  those  who  injure  them,  is  a  duty  of  the 
government,  and  for  this  protection  it  has  been 
provided  that  whoever  uses  the  mails  with 
intent  to  defraud  may  be  forbidden  further  use 
of  them. 

The  public  knows  this.  It  knows  that  to 
secure  a  fraud  order  from  the  Post  Office 
Department  is  often  the  only  way  of  stopping 
swindlers  from  pursuing  their  avocation.  This 
Coakley,  Coakley  &  Sherman  advertisement, 
therefore,  very  evidently  had  behind  it  a  desire 
to  make  its  readers  think  that  there  was  afoot 
some  plan  to  secure  a  fraud  order  against  me — 
and  thereby  to  cause  them  to  loss  confidence  in 
me. 

That  no  such  plan  was  afoot — that  no  com- 
plaint had  ever  been  made  to  the  Post  Office 
officials  against  me  or  my  business  by  one 
single  investor  through  my  office — had  nothing 
to  do  with  the  matter.  The  seed  of  distrust, 
thus  sowed,  might  bring  me  a  harvest  of  lost 

119 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

confidence.     So    those    who    instigated    this 
underhanded  blow  in  the  dark  fondly  hoped. 

It  required  not  more  than  an  hour  after 
reaching  my  office  to  learn  that  the  advertise- 
ment had  been  offered  to  newspapers  by  an 
advertising  agency  which  had  at  times  placed 
some  of  Lawson's  business.  By  the  time  I  had 
gained  this  information  my  reception  room  was 
filled  with  reporters,  sent  by  the  city  editors  of 
the  various  newspapers  of  Boston  to  ascertain 
what  was  in  the  wind.  To  them  I  gave  the 
following  statement : 

The  advertisements  appearing  in  the  newspapers  this 
morning,  addressed,  "To  the  Holders  of  Norton  Oil, 
Douglas  Copper  and  King-Crowther  Stock,"  and 
signed  by  Coakley,  Coakley  &  Sherman,  Counsellors- 
at-Law,  prove  conclusively  that  I  was  right  in  my 
warning  announcement  concerning  the  Arcadian  Copper 
bubble  yesterday,  when  I  said  that  the  "  warming-over 
of  Arcadian  is  no  ordinary  financial  trick.  It  is  being 
engineered  by  some  of  the  cleverest  schemers  in  the 
United  States." 

The  advertisement  printed  by  this  firm  of  attorneys 
to-day  is  the  most  dastardly  and  cowardly  attempt  at  a 
stab  in  the  back  under  cover  of  darkness,  ever  made 
upon  an  American  citizen.  In  the  newspapers  of  Bos- 
ton of  to-morrow  I  shall  reply  to  it  in  full  with  all  the 
strength  and  vigor  at  my  command. 

120 


A  BLOW  IN  THE  DARK 

Then  my  investigations  were  continued. 
My  office  was  not  lacking  in  machinery  to 
gather  information,  or  connections  whence  it 
might  be  obtained,  and  by  night  I  had  made 
up  my  mind  as  to  the  purpose  of  the  attack 
and  the  personality  behind  it. 

I  realized  that  the  battle  against  me  had 
begun.  I  well  knew  the  resources  and  abili- 
ties of  the  man  directing  it.  I  knew  that  he 
would  find  plenty  of  other  men  willing  to 
assist  in  putting  me  out  of  business  if  there 
was  a  chance  of  success — men  who  were  in 
sympathy  with  him  in  the  desire  to  stop  my 
pen,  because  I  attacked  them  as  freely  as  I  did 
him  whenever  their  plans  were  not  such  as 
would  stand  the  light  of  day. 

Then  was  the  time,  if  I  feared  the  outcome, 
for  me  to  make  peace.  I  think  to-day  that 
Lawson  half  believed,  after  this  vindictive 
advertisement,  that  I  would  come  crawling  to 
his  knees,  begging  for  mercy.  It  is  not  usual, 
in  his  scheme  of  things,  for  men  to  fight  back. 
I  had  no  idea  of  begging  for  peace,  or  even 
making  it.  I  foresaw  war— and  I  was  ready 
for  it.  I  welcomed  it.  And,  in  defiance  of 
the  Master  Thug  and  all  his  minions,  I  pub- 
lished   in    every    Boston    newspaper    on    the 

121 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

folllowing  morning  a  statement  which  so 
expresses  the  situation  that  every  word  of  it  is 
worthy  of  reproduction  here.     It  follows: 

MY  NAME— MY  BUSINESS— MY  POLICY 

A  firm  of  Boston  lawyers  representing  individuals 
or  corporations  whose  identity  they  decline  to  disclose, 
inserted  in  all  the  Boston  newspapers  yesterday  that 
would  accept  it  and  print  it,  an  advertisement  request- 
ing that  all  persons  owning  shares  of  Norton  Oil, 
Douglas  Copper  or  King-Crowther,  or  who  have  had 
dealings  in  any  of  these  stocks,  write  to  them,  giving 
the  amount  and  cost  of  their  shares,  the  person  to  whom 
their  money  was  paid,  how  they  were  induced  to  pur- 
chase, and  particularly  if  the  United  States  mails  in  any 
way  entered  into  the  transaction  and  how. 

I  understand  the  meaning  of  it  all.  Every  line  of  it 
is  perfectly  plain  to  me.  There  is  nothing  mysterious 
about  it.  It  simply  means  that  certain  individuals — 
certain  cliques — certain  syndicates  and  certain  power- 
ful influences,  which  the  very  existence  of  my  business 
has  opposed  for  several  years,  have  resorted  to  unusual 
and  hitherto  unheard-of  tactics,  methods  of  the  mid- 
night assassin,  in  an  effort  to  do  me  and  the  corporations 
I  represent  an  injury.  In  all  my  experience  I  never 
knew  these  tactics  applied  to  finance  before. 

I  have  had  the  matter  thoroughly  investigated  during 
the  day.  I  know  whom  the  firm  of  lawyers  represent, 
and  in  the  open,  with  the  noonday  sun  streaming  in  my 
face,  I  stand  up  and  issue  this  challenge,  hurl  it  with  all 
the  vehemence  and  force  at  my  command  at  this  attack 

122 


A  BLOW  IN  THE  DARK 

on  character  and  reputation,  at  this  apostle  of  finance, 
who  finds  it  convenient  and  necessary  to  crouch  behind 
lawyers  and  conceal  his  identity  while  blows  are  struck 
under  cover  of  darkness. 

If  he  will  come  out  in  the  open  like  a  man — like  a 
man  unafraid — and,  like  a  man,  make  charges  against 
me,  I  promise  him  here  and  now  that  the  fight  will  be  a 
fair  one  and  that  never  at  any  time  will  I  strike  in  the 
dark  or  aim  a  blow  below  the  belt. 

There  is  not  on  the  books  of  my  office  a  single  dis- 
satisfied customer.  There  is  not  in  the  entire  list  of 
stockholders  of  the  King-Crowther  Corporation  a  single 
person  who  is  dissatisfied  with  his  or  her  investment. 
The  same  is  true  of  the  Douglas  Copper  Company. 
The  same  is  true  of  the  Norton  Oil  Company.  The 
same  is  true  of  all  the  corporations  which  I  have 
financed. 

There  is  no  more  excuse  for  the  publication  of  the 
advertisement  given  out  by  the  firm  of  lawyers  above 
referred  to  than  there  would  be  for  me  to  declare  that 
Boston  was  to  be  immediately  swallowed  up  by  an 
earthquake — no  more  excuse  for  it  than  there  would  be 
for  me  to  proclaim  that  the  strongest  financial  institu- 
tions of  Boston  were  insolvent.  It  was  published  for  no 
other  reason  than  as  an  effort  to  do  me  and  my  business 
an  injury. 

I  state  solemnly  and  with  all  the  earnestness  at  my 
command  that  if  there  is  in  all  the  world  a  single  indi- 
vidual who  has  ever  at  any  time  purchased  a  single 
share  of  the  stock  of  the  King-Crowther  Corporation  of* 
the  Norton  Oil  Company,  or  a  bond  of  the  Douglas 

123 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

Copper  Company,  all  of  which  securities  have  been  sold 
by  me,  and  is  now  dissatisfied — I  state  solemnly  and 
with  all  the  earnestness  at  my  command  that  I  do  not 
know  of  any  such  person.  I  state  solemnly  that  there 
is  not  on  my  books  to-day  to  my  personal  knowledge, 
the  name  of  a  single  individual  who  is  in  any  manner 
whatsoever  dissatisfied  with  any  investment  made  on 
my  recommendation. 

I  challenge — I  defy  anybody  to  give  me  the  name  of  a 
single  dissatisfied  customer  of  my  office — to  give  me  the 
name  of  a  single  person  who  will  stand  up  and  look  me 
in  the  face  and  say  to  me  that  he  has  had  dealings  with 
me,  wherein  I  did  not  treat  him  with  the  utmost  fairness 
and  accord  to  him  every  consideration.  I  challenge — I 
defy  anybody  to  point  to  a  single  statement  which  I 
ever  made  about  the  King-Crowther  Corporation  or  the 
Norton  Oil  Company,  or  the  Douglas  Copper  Company 
that  was  not  and  is  not  true  in  every  particular.  I 
challenge — I  defy  anybody  to  point  to  any  statement 
of  mine  bearing  on  the  value  of  securities  which  I  have 
offered  for  public  subscription  wherein  the  statement 
made  is  not  in  every  way  in  accordance  with  the  facts. 

Why  didn't  this  firm  of  lawyers  include  the  holders  of 
Ehrman  Manufacturing  Company,  the  holders  of  Howe 
Paint  &  Color  Works,  the  holders  of  Erie  Preserving 
Company,  the  holders  of  Bradley  &  Metcalf  stock,  the 
securities  of  all  of  which  corporations  I  have  sold  to  the 
public  ? 

The  reason  is  this :  The  factory  of  the  Ehrman  Manu- 
facturing Company  is  located  at  Milford,  New  Hamp- 
shire, within  one  and  one-half  hour's  ride  from  Boston. 

124 


A  BLOW  IN  THE  DARK 

It  is  an  easy  matter  for  any  one  to  get  on  a  train  and  see 
with  his  own  eyes  the  truth  of  all  I  have  claimed  for  the 
Ehrman  stock.  The  Howe  Paint  &  Color  Works  are 
located  at  Worcester,  only  one  hour's  ride  from  Boston. 
It  is  an  easy  matter  for  anybody  to  get  on  a  train  and 
prove  the  truthfulness  of  all  I  have  claimed  for  that 
stock.  The  Erie  Preserving  Company  is  located  at 
Buffalo,  only  a  night's  run  from  Boston,  and  it  is  only 
necessary  to  inquire  of  any  well-posted  shoe  dealer  or 
manufacturer  to  learn  all  about  the  Bradley  &  Metcalf 
Company,  of  Milwaukee. 

The  properties  of  the  King-Crowther  Corporation 
are  located  in  Ohio,  Indiana  and  Texas.  The  property 
of  the  Norton  Oil  Company  is  located  in  Indiana,  and 
the  property  of  the  Douglas  Copper  Company  is 
located  in  the  State  of  Sonora,  Mexico,  the  properties 
of  neither  of  these  three  companies  being  as  easily 
accessible  as  in  the  case  of  the  other  corporations 
financed  through  my  office.  Therefore,  only  corpora- 
tions about  which  to  learn  the  entire  truth  at  first  hand 
quite  a  journey  is  necessary,  are  mentioned. 

I  shall  continue  in  the  path  I  have  blazed  out.  I 
shall  go  straight  ahead.  I  shall  turn  neither  to  the 
right  nor  to  the  left.  I  shall  give  no  heed  to  the  growls  or 
groans  of  bulls  or  bears;  neither  shall  I  listen  to  the 

siren's  song. 

And  always  I  shall  be  able  to  stand  out  in  the  open 
and  affix  my  own  signature  to  every  printed  announce- 
ment made  by  me,  because  I  know  I  am  right,  and 
because — I  am  not  afraid. 
The  war  was  on. 

125 


Chapter  XIII 
JUDAS  AND  CAIAPHAS 

I  DO  not  know  what  Lawson  had  expected 
would  be  the  effect  of  the  Coakley,  Coak- 
ley  &  Sherman  advertisement ;  whether  he 
had  expected  it  to  injure  my  business  by  turn- 
ing my  customers  and  clients  against  me,  or 
had  merely  expected  to  frighten  me  into  ceas- 
ing forever  to  criticise  him  and  his  methods  by 
thus  showing  me  what  manner  of  fight  I  should 
have  on  my  hands  if  I  persisted.  Whichever 
was  his  expectation  he  was  disappointed. 

Those  who  knew  of  the  companies  whose 
names  he  had  mentioned  laughed  at  the 
absurdity.  Those  who  knew  nothing  about 
them  were  not,  I  suppose,  interested,  and  if 
they  were  their  opinion  could  have  in  it  no 
injury  to  me.  So  the  attack  fell  flat.  It 
never  injured  my  business  to  the  extent  of 
one  dollar.  But  it  warned  me  of  what  to 
expect  and  put  me  on  my  guard. 

And  now,  to  outline  the  next  move  in  the 
plot,  it  is  necessary  that  I  should  go  back  nearly 
a  year  and  recount  the  pitiful  beginning  of  a 

126 


JUDAS  AND  CAIAPHAS 

tragedy — the  blackest,  most  pitiless,  most 
cruel  tragedy  of  all  those  in  which  Thomas  W. 
Lawson  has  been  the  principal  figure. 

It  was  in  the  winter  of  1905,  early  in 
December,  that  the  doorbell  of  my  home  at 
Winthrop  was  rung  and  I  was  told  that  Mr. 
Moses — ex-Governor  Franklin  J.  Moses  of 
South  Carolina — wished  to  see  me. 

Perhaps  you  have  heard  the  earlier  history 
of  Moses.  It  is  a  sad,  harrowing  story. 
Once  he  was  high  in  position.  Then  he  fell. 
Before  that  time  when  he  came  seeking  my 
sympathy  and  aid,  he  had  fallen  to  the  lowest 
depths.  He  had  become  a  victim  of  morphine. 
He  had  committed  a  crime.  He  had  been 
sentenced  to  prison  and  had  served  a  term. 
He  had  just  been  released. 

I  can  see  him  to-day  as  he  looked  when  I 
went  to  the  door.  Although  the  wintry  winds 
of  a  New  England  December  were  scurrying 
about  the  corners  of  the  houses  and  a  damp 
chilliness  was  biting  in  from  the  sea,  he  had 
no  overcoat.  He  still  wore  a  straw  hat.  His 
threadbare  jacket  was  buttoned  tightly  about 
his  neck,  to  hide  the  absence  of  collar  and 
necktie.  His  wrists  were  guiltless  of  cuffs. 
His    cheeks    were    sunken.     His    snow-white 

127 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

hair   fell    about  a  pale  and  emaciated  face. 

'You  are  from  the  South,"  were  the  first 
words  he  said,  "and  so  am  I.  In  the  name 
of  God,  can't  you  help  me?" 

He  told  me  his  story,  while  the  warmth  of  the 
room  stopped  his  shiverings.  It  was  a  painful 
story. 

He  acknowledged  his  slavery  to  the  drug. 
He  admitted  that  he  had  committed  the 
forgery  for  which  he  had  just  served  a  term 
in  prison.  He  wept  weakly  and  miserably 
as  he  recounted  the  social  ostracism  that  he 
claimed  had  driven  him  to  sin.  He  begged 
that  I  help  him,  not  only  by  means  of  the  few 
dollars  that  would  get  his  overcoat  out  of 
pawn  and  buy  him  a  winter  hat  and  a  few 
other  necessities,  but  to  get  honest  employ- 
ment. 

"The  drug  is  out  of  my  system  now,"  he 
said.  "I  can  go  straight — and  I  will.  For 
God's  sake,  can't  you  do  something  for 
me?" 

I  pitied  him.  "Here  is  some  money,"  I 
said.  "Get  what  you  need.  And  when  you 
have  got  fixed  up  and  have  kept  straight  for  a 
few  days,  to  prove  that  you  can,  come  and  see 
me  at  my  office.     I'll  talk  with  you  again." 

128 


JUDAS  AND  CAIAPHAS 

He  burst  into  tears  of  weakness  and  age. 
I  bade  him  good  night. 

A  few  days  afterward  he  appeared  at  my 
office.  He  had  invested  wisely  the  money  I 
had  given  him.  He  evidently  had  not  had  re- 
course to  the  soothing  qualities  of  morphine. 
He  looked  neat  and  almost  man-like. 

I  drew  him  out  to  talk  of  himself,  and  he 
told  me  of  his  still  unextinguished  ambition 
to  WTite  a  history  of  South  Carolina,  which  he 
felt  confident  he  could  sell — a  history  of  the 
state  during  the  period  of  reconstruction,  when 
he  was  its  chief  executive. 

In  this  ambition  I  saw  a  hope  of  reclaiming 
the  wreck  that  had  been  a  man,  and  I  told  him 
I  would  employ  him  to  write  such  a  history, 
paying  him  a  living  wage  on  account  of  what 
he  might  some  day  make  from  his  book.  It 
is  perhaps  needless  to  say  that  I  did  not 
believe  he  would  ever  finish  the  book,  or  that  I 
felt  at  all  confident  of  a  market  for  it  should  he 
do  so.  But  I  believed  then— and  believe  now 
—that  there  can  be  no  better  charity  than 
assisting  the  fallen  and  erring  brother  to  feel 
his  own  way  upward,  until  he  stands,  self- 
risen,  upon  his  feet  again.  I  had  it  in  my 
mind  to  give  him  employment  in  my  office 

129 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

when  he  should  have  proven  his  reformation 
to  be  permanent  and  sincere. 

Two  months  passed,  and  Moses  seemed  to 
have  left  the  paths  of  evil  for  all  time.  I  gave 
him  a  light  clerical  position  in  my  office,  and 
he  seemed  contented  and  competent.  In 
those  days  he  would  often  tell  me  how  he 
appreciated  what  I  had  done  for  him.  I 
believed  him  then.  I  believe  now  that  he 
meant  it,  even  in  the  light  of  what  transpired 
afterward.  Poor,  weak  old  man  that  he  was, 
I  do  not  hold  him  responsible  for  the  treachery 
that  he  showed,  but  charge  every  evil  bit  of 
it  up  to  the  man  who  bribed  him  to  be  a 
traitor. 

Early  in  October,  1906,  when  Moses  had 
been  in  my  employ  nearly  one  year  and  his 
reclamation  seemed  to  be  complete  and  sincere, 
he  came  to  me  after  office  hours  one  day. 

"I'm  afraid  my  eyesight  is  failing,"  he  said. 
"My  vision  blurs  when  I  have  been  writing  a 
few  hours.  Glasses  do  not  seem  to  remedy 
the  trouble." 

I  expressed  my  sympathy. 

"If  you  could  find  some  work  for  me  so  I 
would  not  have  to  do  so  much  writing — "  he 
suggested. 

130 


JUDAS  AND  CAIAPHAS 

I  told  him  I  would  try  to  think  of  something 
else  for  him  to  do.  As  a  result  of  this  con- 
versation I  made  him  a  sort  of  messenger.  In 
the  course  of  his  new  duties  he  came  in  touch 
with  a  considerable  number  of  my  clients.  I 
sent  him  to  a  number  of  cities  in  New  England 
to  deliver  securities,  answer  in  person  letters 
that  I  received,  and  perform  other  simple 
errands. 

It  is  hard  for  me  to  believe  that  at  that 
moment  Moses  had  entered  into  the  con- 
spiracy against  me  of  which  I  soon  after 
learned,  but  if  the  seed  of  treachery  had  not 
then  been  sown  in  his  weak  mind  it  was  soon 
after.  In  those  earliest  days  of  his  outside 
duties  he  seemed  never  weary,  I  was  told,  of 
expressing  his  regard  and  gratitude  for  me. 
He  went  out  of  his  way  to  tell  customers  of  my 
office  how  much  he  owed  me.  To  not  a  few 
he  confessed  his  old  drug  habit,  which  he  said 
was  now  vanished  forever,  and  added,  with 
tears  in  his  eyes,  "Mr.  King  has  saved  me 
from  the  grave  of  a  morphine  fiend." 

Poor  old  man !  He  was  really  and  honestly 
grateful,  I  truly  believe.  Left  alone,  I  cannot 
think  that  he  would  have  plotted  and  planned 
against  me.     What   kind   of  a   man   must  it 

131 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

have  been  who  would  scheme  to  get  this 
miserable,  tottering  wreck  in  his  power,  and 
tempt  him  with  filthy  money  to  be  a  traitor  to 
the  man  who  had  stretched  out  a  hand  to  save 
him  ? 

How  Franklin  J.  Moses  came  to  change  to 
Judas  Iscariot,  I  do  not  know.  It  has  never 
been  given  me — and  probably  never  will  be — 
to  learn  the  details  of  his  purchase.  But  I  do 
not  believe  that  he,  like  that  Judas  of  old, 
went  of  himself  to  the  high  priests  and  captains. 
I  feel  certain  they  must  have  come  to  him, 
tempting  him  with  pieces  of  silver  in  sufficient 
quantity  to  appeal  to  his  wretched,  distorted 
nature. 

I  began  to  hear  of  the  change  a  few  weeks — 
perhaps  a  month — before  the  appearance  of 
the  Coakley,  Coakley  &  Sherman  advertise- 
ment. When  the  word  first  came  to  me  I 
could  not  believe  it.  x\t  that  moment  I  had 
no  suspicion  that  there  was  any  connection 
between  the  stories  I  heard  and  Lawson. 

Moses  had  changed  his  policy  in  speaking 
of  me  and  had  begun  to  intimate,  invidiously 
and  deviously,  that  all  wras  not  as  it  should  be 
in  my  office.  He  was  very  mysterious  in  what 
he  said,  and  before  saying  anything  he  pledged 

132 


JUDAS  AND  CAIAPHAS 

those  to  whom  he  spoke  to  secrecy.  They 
were  first  asked  to  promise  never  to  disclose  to 
me  what  he  said.  Then  they  were  advised, 
with  an  air  of  importance,  to  come  to  my 
office,  tell  me  they  were  in  urgent  need  of 
money  and  ask  me  to  buy  back  from  them  the 
securities  they  had  purchased  through  me. 

"You  won't  have  any  difficulty  in  getting 
your  money  back,"  he  told  them.  "Just  go 
and  ask  for  it.  You'd  better.  I  can't  tell 
you  why — but  you  will  be  glad  if  you  do." 

When  pressed  by  customers  to  tell  them 
more,  Moses  declined  in  the  same  mysterious 
manner,  but  urged  them  to  "go  and  get  their 
money  back,  as  soon  as  possible." 

You  know  what  the  spirit  of  panic  will  do — 
what  effect  comes  from  a  seed  of  suspicion 
sown  thus  in  the  mind  of  a  man.  Quite  a  few 
to  whom  he  went  took  his  advice.  They 
found  he  had  told  the  truth  as  to  getting  their 
money,  for  when  they  told  me  they  could  not 
afford  to  keep  the  stocks,  having  urgent 
need  for  ready  cash,  I  bought  their  securities. 
Most  of  them  returned  after  a  short  time  and 
purchased  them  back,  but  that  is  another 
storv. 

One  man  held  securities  sold  to  him  by  me 

133 


THE   LIGHT  OF  FOUR   CANDLES 

for  which  he  had  paid  one  thousand  dollars. 
He  came  to  me  with  the  story  of  needing  money 
and  I  bought  the  stocks  from  him  for  just 
what  he  had  paid  me — one  thousand  dollars. 
Within  a  day  or  two  Moses  called  upon  him, 
congratulated  him  upon  the  ease  with  which 
he  had  "recovered"  his  money,  and  borrowed 
four  hundred  dollars.  Within  a  week  there- 
after, reminding  him  how  his  advice  had  helped 
him  to  gain  back  his  money,  Moses  also 
borrowed  from  him  a  diamond  ring,  a  watch 
and  a  satchel.  Sometime  later  the  man  wrote 
me  a  letter  recounting  the  whole  incident. 
The  remaining  six  hundred  dollars,  represent- 
ing practically  the  whole  of  his  savings,  he 
used  in  wild-cat  speculation,  acting  entirely 
on  the  advice  of  Moses — and  lost  absolutely. 
I  noticed  the  peculiarity  of  so  many  people 
seeming  suddenly  to  need  ready  cash  and  ask- 
ing me  to  buy  their  securities,  but  it  was  some 
time  before  I  knew  the  cause.  When  one  of 
those  whose  mind  Moses  had  attempted  to 
poison  came  straight  to  me  with  the  story  I 
could  not  believe  my  ears.  That  night,  as  I 
went  to  my  home,  I  was  depressed — saddened. 
Almost,  for  a  few  hours,  I  believed  that  there 
was  no  such  thing  as  human  gratitude — that  it 

134 


JUDAS  AND  CAIAPHAS 

were  better  never  to  stretch  out  a  helping 
hand  to  the  fallen  or  whisper  wise  counsels 
into  the  ear  of  the  erring.  I  had  assisted  in 
this  man's  reclamation.  I  had  saved  him 
from  the  horrors  of  habit  and  a  criminal  life. 
And  this  was  my  payment. 

Even  then  I  did  not  suspect  the  cause  of 
the  treachery.  I  could  see  no  reason  for  it. 
It  seemed  like  the  act  of  an  insane  man.  I 
determined  to  say  nothing  and  make  a  quiet, 
careful  investigation. 

Imagine  my  astonishment,  my  sorrow  and 
my  horror  wThen  it  was  reported  to  me  that 
Moses  had  been  in  conference  with  Thomas 
W.  Lawson.  Twice,  to  my  knowledge,  Judas 
called  on  Caiaphas  the  High-priest.  One  of 
the  conferences  was  at  Lawson's  home  in  the 
Back  Bay.  It  was  soon  after  eleven  o'clock 
at  night  that  Moses  entered  the  house.  He  did 
not  come  out  until  nearly  midnight — fitting 
hour  for  such  a  visit  on  such  an  errand.  The 
other  conference  was  held  at  Lawson's  room 
in  Young's  Hotel,  very  early  one  morning, 
before  many  people  were  about. 

In  the  light  of  later  events,  what  took  place 
at  those  conferences  is  as  clear  as  though  we 
had  a  stenographic  report  of  the  conversation. 

135 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

The  weak  old  man  was  tempted — tempted  by 
offers  of  gold  and  perhaps  of  a  high-salaried 
place  in  the  Lawson  employ  after  his  unclean 
work  had  been  consummated.  His  deformed 
brain  and  his  broken  will  made  him  a  not 
difficult  victim.  His  work  was  laid  out  for 
him — to  "get  busy"  among  such  customers 
of  my  office  as  he  knew,  disturbing  their  peace 
of  mind  by  intimating  that  something  was 
about  to  happen  to  my  business,  urging  them 
to  ask  me  to  buy  back  the  securities  I  had  sold 
them,  poisoning  their  hearts  against  me  so 
that  they  would  cease  to  be  my  clients;  per- 
haps, at  the  proper  psychological  moment,  to 
urge  them  to  so  gamble  with  their  funds 
that  their  dollars  would  roll  into  the  Lawson 
pocket. 

The  report  that  gave  me  the  last  needed 
evidence  as  to  the  existence  of  a  conspiracy 
of  which  Lawson  was  the  head  and  Moses  the 
tool  came  to  me  on  the  day  after  the  appear- 
ance of  the  Coakley,  Coakley  &  Sherman  ad- 
vertisement. For  several  days  Moses  had  not 
been  at  my  office.  He  had  been  ostensibly  ill. 
I  waited  for  him  to  come  in  until  November 
27,  on  which  day  I  wrote  him  the  following 
letter : 

136 


JUDAS  AND  CAIAPHAS 

Journal  Building,  Boston. 

November  27,  1906. 
Mr.  Franklin  J.  Moses, 

Winthrop  Beach,  Massachusetts. 
My  dear  Mr.  Moses: 

Please  come  in  and  see  me  early  Wednesday  morning 
about  a  matter  of  considerable  importance. 

Yours  very  truly, 

C.  F.  KING. 

On  Wednesday,  early,  I  was  told  that  the  old 
man  was  in  my  reception  room.  Before  hav- 
ing him  sent  in  I  thought  long  and  earnestly. 
My  mind  reviewed  his  history — his  vice — his 
crime — his  weakness — his  age — his  moral  irre- 
sponsibility, naturally  due  to  the  drug  habit 
that  had  gripped  him.  I  could  not  respect 
him,  but  I  could  respect  his  white  hairs,  for 
he  was  old  enough  to  be  my  father.  I  deter- 
mined to  be  as  kind  to  him  as  circumstances 
would  allow. 


187 


Chapter  XIV 
THIRTY  PIECES  OF  SILVER 

MOSES  came  in  with  a  smile,  but  his 
hands  were  trembling.  He  was  en- 
deavoring to  act  at  ease.  At  my 
request  he  took  a  seat  across  the  desk  from 
me.  I  asked  him  about  his  health,  espe- 
cially in  regard  to  his  eyesight.  I  talked  to 
him  pleasantly  for  a  moment,  until  his  fears — 
the  natural  fears  of  the  guilty  that  haunt  him 
every  moment  of  the  day  and  night — had  sub- 
sided. Then  I  broached  the  subject  as  gently 
as  I  could. 

"I've  sent  for  you,  Mr.  Moses,"  I  said,  "to 
say  some  things  that  I'm  afraid  will  prove  very 
distressing." 

His  trembling  started  in  afresh.  He  wet 
his  lips  with  his  tongue.  He  drew  a  long 
breath  and  became  very  pale. 

"Yes,"  he  said,  after  a  moment,  during 
which  he  tried  pitiably  to  get  a  grip  upon 
himself. 

"I  have  some  unpleasant  things  to  say," 
I  went  on,  "  but  I  want  you  to  feel  that  they  are 

138 


THIRTY  PIECES  OF  SILVER 

said   in  the  kindliest  possible  spirit.     Have  I 
been  a  friend  to  you  ?" 

He  swallowed  hard  and  the  tears  came  into 
his  eyes,  for,  after  all,  he  was  but  a  weak  old 
man.  "You  have,  Mr.  King.  You  have," 
he  said,  huskily. 

I  paused  a  moment.  "  You  have  committed 
another  crime,"  I  said,  "and  this  time  it  is  a 
crime  against  a  friend." 

"I  don't  know  what  you  mean,"  he  pro- 
tested, hesitatingly. 

"You  have  gone  back  on  me." 

"Oh,  no,  "he  cried. 

"You  are  planning  something  underhanded, 
to  injure  me.  You  are  planning  it  this  very  day." 

"You — you  are  mistaken,"  he  said,  faintly. 
"Somebody  has  been  lying  about  me.  I 
haven't  done  anything  to  injure  you.  I 
wouldn't." 

"I  have  the  proof." 

"Don't  say  that!"   he  cried.     "Don't  say 
that.     I'd  lose  my  right  arm  before  I'd  injure 
you.     Don't  you  believe  me?" 
1  can  t. 

"You  must.  Why — you  have  been  the  best 
friend  I  ever  had.     You  have — " 

I  interrupted  him. 

139 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

"Now,  Mr.  Moses,"  I  said,  "I  know  what 
has  been  going  on.  I  know  what  is  afoot. 
But  I  want  you  to  tell  me  about  it  yourself." 

"  There  is  nothing.  I  don't  know  what  you 
mean."  He  was  trembling  all  over,  now,  like 
a  man  with  the  ague. 

I  looked  him  full  in  the  face  and  his  eyes 
fell. 

"If  you  don't  know  what  I  am  talking 
about, "  I  said,  "  tell  me  why  you  had  two  inter- 
views with  Thomas  W.  Lawson." 

"Two  interviews — with  Mr.  Lawson?"  he 
stammered. 

"One  at  his  house  in  Back  Bay  and  the 
other  at  Young's  Hotel,"  I  said. 

Moses  looked  about  him  wildly.  His  eyes 
were  staring.  He  opened  his  mouth  to  speak 
two  or  three  times,  but  no  words  came.  He 
swallowed  hard,  breathed  deeply,  and  then, 
throwing  his  head  down  upon  his  arms  on  the 
desk  before  him,  burst  into  tears.  "  Wait  a 
minute,"  he  moaned.  "Just  a  minute,  and 
I'll  tell  you." 

It  was  a  pathetic  scene.  His  sin  had  found 
him  out. 

As  I  waited  for  his  grief  and  incoherent  self- 
reproaches  to  subside,  we  were  interrupted. 

140 


THIRTY  PIECES  OF  SILVER 

Over  the  interior  telephone  I  was  informed 
of  a  pressing  need  of  niy  presence  in  one  of  the 
office  departments.  I  arose  to  go  into  the 
other  room. 

"I'll  be  back  in  a  moment/'  I  said  to  the 
bowed  man  at  the  desk.  "Wait  until  I 
return." 

When,  a  few  minutes  later,  I  again  entered 
my  private  office,  Moses  was  gone.  A  clerk  in 
the  reception  room  told  me  he  had  hurried  out, 
seemingly  quite  excited  and  shaken,  and  that 
as  he  passed  her  he  had  said,  "  Tell  Mr.  King 
I'll  be  right  back." 

He  did  not  return. 

Forewarned  is  forearmed.  I  now  knew  of 
the  existence  of  a  plot  to  injure  my  business  by 
disturbing  the  confidence  of  my  customers, 
but  with  Moses  aware  of  my  knowledge  and 
no  longer  in  a  position  to  dare  to  approach  my 
clients  as  representing  my  house  I  felt  that  it 
was  not  necessary  for  me  to  take  further 
action.  In  truth,  my  feelings  now  were  more 
of  sorrow  at  the  man's  ingratitude  and  pity 
for  his  weakness  than  indignation,  for  I  felt 
that  he  had  done  all  the  harm  he  could — and 
that  had  amounted  to  naught. 

On  the  second  day  of  December,  however,  I 

141 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

saw  things  from  a  different  point  of  view,  for 
on  that  day  the  real  seriousness  of  the  plot  was 
for  the  first  time  made  clear  to  me. 

A  gentleman  who  knows  me  well  called  at 
the  office.  His  reputation  is  above  reproach 
and  he  is  a  man  of  discretion  and  business 
ability.  Because  of  the  manner  in  which  he 
learned  what  he  told  me,  and  the  injury  that 
becoming  mixed  in  the  matter  might  do  him 
in  a  business  way,  he  placed  me  under  the  ban 
of  secrecy  as  to  his  identity — a  secrecy  that 
must  still  be  maintained,  unless  it  becomes 
necessary,  at  some  time,  for  him  to  give  his 
testimony  in  a  court  of  law. 

"I  have  called,  Mr.  King,"  he  said,  "to 
tell  you  of  something  that  I  have  accidentally 
learned."  Pledging  me  to  confidence  he 
went  on  to  give  me  the  details  of  a  plot  against 
me  so  vile,  so  terrible,  and  so  vindictive  that  I 
could  not  believe  my  ears  and  interrupted  him 
more  than  once  to  tell  him  that  he  could  not 
be  in  earnest — that  things  like  this  could  not 
be  true  in  Boston,  Massachusetts,  in  the 
twentieth  century. 

This  was  the  substance  of  what  he  had 
learned : 

A  conspiracy  had  been  planned  which  had 

142 


THIRTY  PIECES  OF  SILVER 

for  its  purpose  involving  me  by  means  of  a 
forgery.  Moses,  whose  cleverness  at  this  sort 
of  thing  had  already  been  made  apparent  in 
the  crime  for  which  he  had  served  a  sentence 
just  previous  to  my  befriending  him,  was  to 
commit  the  forgery,  and  the  papers  that  were 
to  be  prepared  were  to  be  of  a  character  that 
would  convict  me  of  crime — unless  I  could 
prove  that  they  were  forged.  The  conspira- 
tors had  so  arranged  matters  that  they  felt 
certain  I  could  not  prove  this,  and  they  were 
depending  upon  Moses  to  do  his  work  so  well 
that  even  handwriting  experts  would  differ 
as  to  whether  I  was  or  was  not  guilty. 

The  gentleman  who  called  to  inform  me  of 
what  he  had  overheard  was  very  excited  about 
it.  He  could  not  be  sure,  from  what  he  had 
heard,  that  the  forgery  had  not  already  been 
committed,  and  the  machinery  set  in  motion 
which  should  lay  a  crime  at  my  door. 

"But  even  if  this  is  done,"  I  said,  "your 
evidence  as  to  this  matter  that  you  have  over- 
heard would  prove  my  innocence." 

"I  doubt  it,"  he  replied.  "What  jury 
would  believe  such  a  tale?  It  would  look  as 
though  you  had  arranged  such  a  defense,  and 
it  would  pass  as  a  flimsy  one.     People  would 

143 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

say  you  got  the  idea  out  of  a  novel.  Why, 
man  alive,  nobody  would  believe  a  thing  like 
that  in  these  days!  Besides,"  he  added, 
ingenuously,  "I  don't  want  it  to  come  to  trial. 
I  don't  want  to  get  mixed  up  in  it.  It  might 
cost  me  thousands  of  dollars." 

The  next  mail  bore  the  following  letter: 

Journal  Building,  Boston, 

December  3,  1906. 
Mr.  F.  J.  Moses, 

Winthrop  Beach,  Massachusetts. 
Dear  Mr.  Moses: 

I  am  very  anxious  to  see  you  long  enough  to  finish  the 
interview  which  was  interrupted  some  days  ago  when 
you  were  in  the  office.  I  feel  that  in  justice  to  both  you 
and  myself,  you  should  come  to  the  office  for  that  pur- 
pose, just  as  soon  as  you  possibly  can.  I  hope  your 
eyes  are  better,  and  that  you  may  find  it  convenient  to 
call  on  me  some  time  to-morrow. 
With  best  wishes,  I  am, 

Yours  very  truly, 

C.  F.  KING. 

No  response  was  received  to  this  com- 
munication and  under  date  of  December  6  I 
again  wrote  Moses,  urging  him  to  call  at  my 
office.  This  letter  was  a  final  warning.  It 
read  as  follows: 

144 


THIRTY  PIECES  OF  SILVER 

Journal  Building,  Boston, 

December  6,  1906. 

Mr.  Franklin  J.  Moses, 

Winthrop  Beach,  Massachusetts. 
Dear  Mr.  Moses: 

I  am  surprised  that  you  have  not  called  in  to  see  me 
in  response  to  my  letter  of  the  third  instant.  I  now 
insist  that  you  come  to  see  me  immediately,  and  I  must 
say  to  you  plainly,  that,  unless  you  can  explain  to  my 
satisfaction  certain  charges  which  have  been  lodged 
with  me  against  you,  I  shall  be  compelled  to  do  some- 
thing to  protect  my  interests. 

I  will  say  to  you  that  your  actions  during  the  past  two 
months  have  been  such  as  to  cause  me  to  have  your 
movements  shadowed  from  day  to  day,  and  I  am  fully 
aware  of  the  conferences  which  you  have  had  under 
cover  of  darkness  with  a  certain  unscrupulous  financier, 
and  I  am  prepared  to  meet  any  game  which  you  may 
have  been  prevailed  upon  to  cook  up. 

I  still  have  respect  for  your  gray  hairs,  and  if  you  will 
come  in  and  confess  all,  like  an  honest  man,  I  will  for- 
give and  forget. 

Yours  very  truhT, 

C.  F.  KING. 

This  letter  was  written  and  mailed  on  Thurs- 
day, December  6.  You  may  well  imagine  the 
anxiety  with  which  I  awaited  a  reply,  a  call 
from  him  or  some  other  development  in  the 
net  of  circumstance  that  I  knew  was  being 
skillfully  woven  to  entrap  me. 

145 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

Moses  must  have  received  the  letter  on 
Friday.  He  did  not  reply  to  it;  neither  did  he 
call  at  my  office.  On  Saturday,  I  learned,  he 
displayed  to  a  friend  seven  one-hundred- 
dollar  bills.  He  said  they  had  been  paid  him 
to  do  something — what  or  when  or  by  whom  he 
did  not  say — and  that  the  service  which  he  was 
to  render  for  the  money  was  not  difficult. 
Sunday  passed,  and  Monday,  with  no  develop- 
ments. 

On  Tuesday  morning,  December  11,  Frank- 
lin J.  Moses  was  found  dead  in  his  room  at 
Winthrop.  The  gas  was  turned  on.  He  had 
been  asphyxiated. 

No  note  or  letter  had  been  left  to  give  an 
explanation  of  the  reasons  for  the  suicide. 
There  was  nothing  to  indicate  to  the  world 
what  had  driven  this  old  man,  who  but  two 
days  before  had  possessed  seven  hundred 
dollars,  to  take  his  own  life.  Yet  I,  with  my 
knowledge  of  what  had  gone  before,  could 
build  the  scene  that  preceded  his  self-murder, 
and  understand  how  it  had  come  about. 

Moses  had  fallen  until  his  strength  of  will 
and  character  had  well-nigh  vanished — but 
once  he  had  been  a  man.  He  had  been 
tempted  to  do  me  a  great  wrong,  and  he  had 

U6 


THIRTY  PIECES  OF  SILVER 

yielded  to  the  temptation  so  far  as  to  take  the 
price  that  was  to  be  paid — or  at  least  a  portion 
of  it — and  agree  to  perform  his  part  of  the 
crime.  Realizing  that  I  knew  much,  if  not  all, 
of  what  he  had  done,  he  had  been  filled  with 
fear.  Even  more,  remembering  what  I  had 
done  for  him — how  I  had  stretched  out  my 
hand  when  he  most  needed  the  uplift — how  I 
had  been  his  friend  when  he  had  no  others — 
he  had  been  overcome  with  remorse. 

I  believe  that  when  Moses  received  that 
money,  whether  it  was  paid  to  him  directly  by 
Thomas  W.  Lawson  or  by  lawyers  in  the 
employ  of  Thomas  W.  Lawson,  he  bargained 
to  complete  the  act  that  was  to  ruin  me — to 
make  me  out  a  criminal.  He  had  probably 
received  money  from  the  same  source  before, 
but  this  last  and  largest  payment  was  to  have 
been  the  final  one  before  the  "delivery  of  the 
goods."  I  have  no  doubt,  when  the  Judas- 
price  passed  into  his  hands,  that  he  fully 
intended  to  carry  out  his  promise.  He  went 
out  of  the  presence  with  the  blood-money  in  his 
pocket.  To  him  at  that  time  seven  hundred 
dollars  seemed  like  a  fortune.  He  was  re- 
solved not  to  turn  back — to  do  what  he  had 
sold  himself  to  do.     And  then — 

147 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

He  went  to  his  home  and  was  alone.  Into 
his  mind  came  a  realization  of  what  he  had 
done,  what  he  was  doing  and  what  he  was 
about  to  do.  All  day  Sunday  he  thought  of 
it,  and  all  day  Monday.  In  the  bright  hours 
of  the  day  and  the  silent  watches  of  the  night 
the  scheme  passed  through  his  mind,  over  and 
over  and  over  again. 

I  can  imagine  that  he  took  from  his  pocket 
the  seven  one-hundred-dollar  bills  and  counted 
them,  and  that  then  he  sat  in  thought,  his 
mind  on  the  power  of  gold  and  what  a  man 
with  nearly  a  thousand  dollars  might  do.  I 
can  imagine  that  he  planned  ways  to  spend 
the  money,  and  that  it  seemed  a  large  sum — 
perhaps  not  so  large  as  it  seemed  when  he  was 
offered  it,  but  large. 

And  then  I  seem  to  see  him  taking  my  letter 
from  an  inner  pocket  and  reading  it  for  the 
tenth  or  twentieth  time.  His  hands,  palsied 
with  emotion,  fall  into  his  lap  and  his 
watery  eyes  fix  on  space  as  he  thinks  of  what 
has  been.  His  mind  runs  over  his  own 
checkered  history.  He  remembers  how  friends 
fell  away  from  him  and  he  was  an  outcast  in  a 
great  and  cruel  world.  He  recalls  his  crime — 
and  the  penalty.     In  memory  rises  the  picture 

148 


THIRTY  PIECES  OF  SILVER 

of  how  horrible  was  that  term  in  prison. 
"And  I  was  guilty,"  he  thinks,  "while  this 
man  whom  I  would  send  there  on  a  similar 
charge  is  innocent.  It  will  be  much  worse  for 
him."  Then  there  breaks  through  his  mind 
the  thought  of  what  I  have  done  for  him— of 
my  kindnesses  when  he  had  no  other  friend— 
of  the  helping  hand  that  I  stretched  down  to 
the  depths  to  raise  him  to  the  level  of  men. 
"This  man,"  he  thinks,  M  saved  me  from  my- 
self— from  the  grave  of  a  morphine  fiend — and 
I  am  about  to  sell  his  blood  for  thirty  pieces 

of  silver." 

I  can  believe,  too,  that  with  remorse  was 
mixed  fear.  He  knew  that  I  had  evidence 
against  him,  but  could  not  know  how  much. 
He  might  have  to  face  exposure  and  perhaps 
the  crime  would  be  traced  to  him,  after  all, 
and  he  would  serve  his  few  declining  days  be- 
hind the  drear,  gray  walls  of  a  prison.  And 
he  pictured  my  denunciation  of  him,  and  of 
how  the  world  would  point  to  him  as  a  man 
who  had  committed  one  of  the  deadliest  of 
sins — ingratitude  to  a  benefactor. 

Then  I  can  imagine  that  there  came  into 
his  heart  a  flash  of  his  old-time  manliness, 
that  he  threw  his  white  head  back  and  that 

149 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

his  weak  eyes  snapped  with  something  of 
their  old  fire,  as  he  mentally  cried:  "I  will  not 
injure  this  just  man."  And  then  came  the 
recollection  that  already  he  had  taken  the 
money — perhaps  he  had  spent  some  of  it — and 
that  he  must  either  go  ahead  and  commit  the 
crime  that  was  to  ruin  me,  or  face  ruin  at  the 
hands  of  the  man  who  had  bought  him. 

He  was  between  two  fires.  There  seemed 
to  be  no  way  out  of  it  but  to  forge  the  papers 
and  trust  to  his  latest  patron  to  protect  him. 
Perhaps  he  tried  to  be  released  of  his  blood- 
bargain — and  failed.  Then,  like  an  inspira- 
tion, came  the  solution  of  it  all.  He  could 
refuse  to  commit  the  crime  without  having  to 
listen  to  reproaches  or  stand  the  consequences 
of  his  failure  to  earn  his  pay.  He  could 
expiate  the  wrong  he  had  done  me  and  the 
greater  wrong  he  had  promised  to  do  me. 

He  could  die. 

How  long  he  considered  this  way  out  of  his 
troubles  no  man  knows,  and  no  one  but  God 
ever  will  know.  Perhaps  he  meditated  upon  it 
through  all  the  dark  hours  of  that  Monday 
night;  perhaps  it  came  to  him  almost  as  an 
inspiration  and  he  carried  it  out  at  once,  with- 
out  waiting.     Perhaps   he   went   about    it    in 

150 


THIRTY  PIECES  OF  SILVER 

horrible  fear;  perhaps — and  this  is  what  I  like 
to  believe — the  poor,  broken,  forlorn,  sin- 
weary  old  man  fell  upon  his  knees,  made  his 
peace  with  his  Maker,  and  then,  confident  of 
the  justice  of  his  expiation  and  forgiveness  for 
the  manner  of  it,  made  his  last  preparations 
'  like  one  who  wraps  the  draperies  of  his  couch 
about  him,  and  lies  down  to  pleasant  dreams." 
Poor,  hopeless  old  wreck  of  a  man !  I  would 
that  I  could  waft  a  message  to  his  soul,  wher- 
ever he  is.  It  would  be  a  message  to  make  his 
rest  more  peaceful,  for  I  should  tell  him  that 
I  long  ago  forgave  him. 

"  Then  Judas,  .  .  .  repented  himself,  and  brought 
again  the  thirty  pieces  of  silver  to  the  chief  priests  and 
the  elders, 

"  Saying,  I  have  sinned  in  that  I  have  betrayed  the 
innocent  blood.  And  they  said,  What  is  that  to  us  ? 
see  thou  to  that. 

"  And  he  cast  down  the  pieces  of  silver  in  the 
temple,  and  departed,  and  went  and  hanged  himself." 


151 


Chapter  XV 
A  PLOT  THAT  FAILED 

LONG  after  the  death  of  Moses,  evidence 
of  his  treachery  and  of  whence  it 
sprang  came  to  my  ears.  Even  to-day 
I  occasionally  come  in  contact  with  some 
additional  evidence  of  what  was  afoot.  And 
I  now  know  that  the  beginning  of  the  plot 
was  long  before  the  culmination  of  it  in  so 
tragic  a  manner. 

It  was  on  the  fifth  of  July,  1906,  that  I  sailed 
for  a  brief  respite  from  the  cares  of  my  office,  in 
Europe.  Amid  the  friends  who  gathered  on 
the  deck  of  the  Arabic  to  wish  me  a  pleasant 
voyage  was  Moses.  In  his  hands  he  bore  a 
large  basket  of  flowers,  brought  for  my  state- 
room. On  his  face  was  a  smile.  His  words 
were  honeyed.  He  grasped  my  hand,  when 
the  call  came  for  those  who  were  not  sailing  to 
go  ashore,  and  whispered  into  my  ear,  "  God 
bless  you,  my  friend  and  benefactor. " 

As  the  Arabic  steamed  majestically  down 
Boston  harbor  and  out  across  the  Atlantic 
there  was  no  thought  more  often  in  my  mind 

152 


A  PLOT  THAT  FAILED 

than  the  remembrance  of  the  farewell  of  this 
old  man  whom  I  had  helped  to  save. 

I  know  now  that  before  the  Arabic  passed 
Boston  lightship  and  began  to  breast  the  rollers 
of  the  ocean,  Moses  was  aboard  a  train  for 
Lawrence,  where  he  spent  the  late  afternoon 
and  early  evening  in  carrying  out  a  piece  of 
Lawson's  unclean  work. 

Undoubtedly  I  have  never  learned  the  full 
extent  of  the  plot — and  never  shall.  I  know, 
however,  enough  of  it.  I  know  that  in  the 
early  weeks  and  months  of  his  employment  by 
Lawson  his  work  was  to  reach  all  the  customers 
of  my  office  whom  he  could  without  attracting 
attention  and  to  endeavor  to  make  them  dis- 
satisfied with  the  investments  they  had  made 
upon  my  advice.  His  work  was  done  well. 
Had  he  possessed  the  courage  to  perform  the 
last  act  for  which  he  was  hired,  and  had  it 
been  successful,  he  would  have  been  in  a 
position  to  remind  these  people  that  he  had 
warned  them — and  to  induce  them,  I  suppose, 
to  put  such  other  funds  as  they  had  into  some 
Lawson  speculative  scheme,  which  means  into 
Lawson's  pocket.  Thus  the  man  who  bribed 
Moses  would  have  regained  the  hundreds  that 
the  old  man's  treachery  cost  him. 

153 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

When  Moses  died,  friendless  and  alone, 
the  usual  formalities  of  the  law  were  carried 
out.  The  Medical  Examiner,  called  to  view 
the  remains,  gave  his  verdict  that  death  was 
due  to  asphyxiation — without  going  into 
whether  or  not  it  was  suicide — and  took 
possession  of  all  the  papers  that  were  found  in 
the  room.  These  papers  he  turned  over  to  the 
State  Police.  And  right  here  Lawson  made 
a  mistake — one  of  those  mistakes  that  are 
likely  to  be  made  by  the  participants  in  any 
complicated  plot — a  mistake  that  made  for- 
ever clear,  even  if  any  one  had  reason  to  doubt 
it,  his  connection  with  the  death  of  this 
unhappy  man. 

Lawson  knewT  that  the  plot  had  been  made. 
He  knew  that  Judas  had  taken  his  pieces  of 
silver.  He  knew  that  he  had  promised  to 
commit  the  forgery  that  should,  Lawson  hoped, 
forever  close  my  mouth  as  to  his  schemes  to 
milk  the  speculating  public.  He  did  not  know 
whether  or  not  the  goods  had  been  delivered. 

He  could  not  be  certain  but  Moses  had  died 
accidentally.  He  didn't  know  but  that  the 
old  man  had  committed  the  forgery  for  which 
he  had  been  paid,  and  then,  perhaps  during  a 
reversion  to  his  morphine  habit,  had  gone  to 

154 


A  PLOT  THAT  FAILED 

sleep  leaving  the  gas-cock  open  accidentally. 
He  naturally  hoped  this  had  happened,  and 
he  took  steps  to  see  to  it  that  these  forged 
papers,  whatever  they  were,  might  come  into 
the  hands  of  the  authorities  and  that  as  much 
publicity  as  possible  might  arise  from  it. 

No  sooner  was  Moses  dead  than  Lawson 
appeared  on  the  scene  like  the  vulture  that 
awaits  the  death. 

From  sources  close  to  Lawson  appeared  a 
swarm  of  rumors,  connecting  my  name  with 
certain  documents  supposed  to  have  been 
found  by  the  State  Police.  In  every  news- 
paper office  in  Boston  the  stories  appeared 
simultaneously.  I  have  been  told  by  news- 
paper men  that  their  journals  had  a  'tip" 
to  the  effect  that  there  were  in  Moses'  papers 
evidence  that  would  incriminate  me,  before 
these    papers    were    even    examined    by    the 

authorities. 

The  newspapers  of  Boston  know  Lawson. 
Only  one  of  them  cared  to  go  out  of  its  way 
to  give  wing  to  the  rumors.  That  paper  said 
in  part— and  the  voice  was  the  voice  of  Jacob 
but  the  hands  were  the  hands  of  Esau: 

"Moses  has  left  as  his  legacy  the  evidence  which  is 
calculated  to  cause  trouble  and  disgrace  for  another 

155 


THE   LIGHT  OF  FOUR   CANDLES 

man,  who  has  enjoyed  comfort,  luxury  and  the  respect 
of  his  associates. " 

The  whole  article  showed  a  remarkable 
familiarity  with  the  affairs  of  Moses.  It  was 
displayed  in  two  columns.  By  innuendo  it 
intimated  that  Moses  had  been  the  tool  of 
somebody  or  other,  and  that  evidence  would 
be  found  in  his  belongings  to  prove  dishonesty. 
The  inspiration  of  this  story  and  the  harm  that 
it  might  do  are  clear  when  you  realize  that 
Moses  was  known  to  have  worked  for  me. 

It  appeared  within  a  day  or  so  that  the  State 
Police  had  turned  the  satchel  over  to  District 
Attorney  John  B.  Moran,  and  that  he  would 
have  its  contents  examined. 

Now  the  stage  setting  was  all  ready  for  the 
climax.  The  lights  had  been  turned  on.  The 
calciums  were  working.  I  had  been  placed 
in  the  limelight  and  the  officers  of  the  law  had 
the  papers. 

Can  you  imagine  what  must  have  been 
Lawson's  rage  and  disappointment  when  he 
found  that  nothing  was  in  the  satchel  which 
might  do  me  injury?  Then,  for  the  first 
time,  he  realized  that  Moses  had  died  without 
performing  his  part  of  the  conspiracy.  Then 
he  realized  that  the  money  he  had  spent  had 

156 


A  PLOT  THAT  FAILED 

been  in  vain — that  he  must  begin  again  and 
seek  another  tool  if  he  hoped  to  make  me  out 
a  criminal — and  human  tools  with  experience 
as  forgers  and  opportunity  to  make  their 
forgery  count  are  hard  to  find.  Then,  too,  he 
realized  that  the  miserable  old  man  had  killed 
himself  and  that  he  was  responsible.  Per- 
haps he,  too,  suffered  a  little  from  remorse — 
although  I  fear  that  one  suicide,  more  or  less, 
to  Lawson's  credit,  is  not  likely  to  affect 
him. 

I  can  readily  believe  that  he  stormed  and 
raged  and  foamed.  I  can  believe  that  he 
cursed  his  retainers  more  volubly  and  fluently 
than  usual,  on  that  day.  I  can  believe  that 
those  who  came  into  his  clutches  were  squeezed 
even  harder  than  is  his  custom. 

All  the  papers  printed  the  fact  that  nothing 
incriminating  had  been  found  in  Moses' 
satchel.  All  the  articles,  emanating,  as  they 
did,  from  police  headquarters,  were  sub- 
stantially the  same.  The  following  is  one  of 
them: 

Chief  Inspector  Watts  said  yesterday  that  an  exam- 
ination of  the  papers  in  the  grip  of  the  late  Franklin  J. 
Moses,  ex-Governor  of  South  Carolina,  whose  death 
occurred  December  11,  at  Winthrop,  did  not  reveal 

157 


THE   LIGHT  OF  FOUR   CANDLES 

anything  that  would  lead  the  police  to  take  action 
against  any  one. 

Moses  was  employed  before  his  death  by  a  Wash- 
ington Street  financial  concern. 

Medical  Examiner  Harris  was  called  into  the  case 
because  Moses  died  from  gas  poison  and  the  gas  jet  was 
found  open.  Dr.  Harris  found  the  grip,  which  con- 
tained a  lot  of  papers,  that  apparently  referred  to 
the  business  affairs  of  ex-Governor  Moses.  Captain 
Proctor  of  the  State  Police  took  the  grip  and  turned  it 
over  to  District  Attorney  Moran  at  the  latter 's  request. 
Mr.  Moran  ordered  Inspector  Armstrong  of  the  city 
force  to  go  through  the  papers  and  see  if  they  contained 
anything  that  the  police  might  be  required  to  take 
action  on. 

"Inspector  Armstrong,"  said  Chief  Watts  yesterday, 
"  has  found  nothing  whatever  that  will  give  us  a  basis 
for  action." 

What  was  in  the  satchel  ?  I  do  not  know. 
But  long  afterward — six  months  surely — I 
heard  something  that  leads  me  to  hazard  what 
I  believe  to  be  a  shrewd  guess. 

A  mutual  friend  of  mine  and  of  District 
Attorney  Moran  was  talking  to  the  District 
Attorney.  Apropos  of  something  or  other  that 
came  up  in  their  conversation — some  reference 
to  something  that  had  appeared  in  my  news- 
paper, as  I  remember  it — our  friend  said: 

'  By  the  way — it's  long  past  now — can  you 

158 


A  PLOT  THAT  FAILED 

tell  me  what  was  in  that  satchel  that  old 
Governor  Moses  left?  The  satchel  that  they 
said  contained  evidence  that  would  incriminate 
King?" 

The  District  Attorney  smiled  grimly,  and 
replied : 

"  Nothing  to  prove  that  King  was  a  criminal 
— but  enough  to  prove  that  Moses  was!" 

I  wonder  if  that  satchel,  by  some  dis- 
pensation of  Providence,  contained  the  evi- 
dence that  Moses  wras  in  the  employ  of  Lawson. 
I  wonder. 

You  would  naturally  suppose,  after  it  had 
been  demonstrated  that  Moses  had  not  com- 
mitted the  forgery,  and  that  the  expected 
incriminating  papers  had  not  been  found,  that 
Lawson  would  have  been  glad  to  let  the 
matter  drop.  But  no.  He  had  sown  some 
seed  of  suspicion  at  the  time  of  Moses'  death. 
He  referred  to  the  matter  thereafter  at  every 
opportunity.  Despite  the  official  denial,  he 
made  a  frequent  effort  to  resurrect  the  story 
for  his  own  ends.  He  knew  that  what  he 
printed  from  time  to  time  was  a  lie — but  he 
printed  it.     It  was  a  characteristic  action. 

I  must  go  ahead  several  months  to  best 
illustrate  how  he  did  it — to  March,  when  Law- 

150 


THE   LIGHT  OF  FOUR   CANDLES 

son  was  at  bay.  Of  his  assumption  of  the 
"William  W.  White"  alias  to  boost  his  waning 
influence,  and  of  how  he  was  exposed,  and 
how  the  Post  Office  authorities  commanded 
him  to  cease  the  use  of  this  fictitious  name  in 
his  advertisements,  and  of  many  other  interest- 
ing developments  of  that  time,  I  shall  write  at 
the  proper  moment.  I  refer  to  it  now  merely 
as  explaining  the  form  of  a  Lawson  reference 
to  Moses'  death,  published  as  late  as  March, 
1907,  months  after  the  old  man  had  paid  his 
last  debt  to  nature.  It  was  just  after  the 
government  had  ordered  Lawson  not  to 
advertise  again  under  the  "  William  W.  WTiite" 
alias,  that  the  following  advertisement 
appeared  in  such  Boston  papers  as  would 
accept  it: 

$5000  REWARD 

Ex-Governor  Moses  of  South  Carolina  died  sud- 
denly at  Winthrop,  Mass.,  on  December  11,  1906.  A 
few  hours  before  his  dead  body  was  discovered  he  had 
hastily  packed  a  satchel  of  incriminating  evidence  and 
had  refused  to  part  with  it  to  those  involved.  Medical 
Examiner  Harris  seized  the  satchel,  looked  at  its  con- 
tents and  called  in  the  State  Police.  Both  the  Medical 
Examiner  and  the  State  Police  were  forthwith  sum- 
moned before  the  District  Attorney  of  Suffolk  County. 

For  a  long  time  previous  to  his  death  Moses  was  the 

160 


A  PLOT  THAT  FAILED 

instrument  of  a  band  of  crooks.  Between  the  time  of 
his  death  and  an  attempt  to  bring  to  justice  the  band 
whose  tool  he  had  been,  many  of  those  who  had  been 
swindled  were  "  settled  with. " 

It  is  my  purpose,  at  any  cost  of  time,  money  and 
effort,  to  publicly  clear  up  the  death  of  Moses,  to  unravel 
the  events  which  lead  up  to  it  and  away  from  it,  and  to 
bring  to  justice  the  guilty  parties.  To  that  end  I  will 
pay  over  to  any  one  who  will  furnish  me  with  con- 
victing evidence  the  sum  of  $5000.  All  persons  who 
had  dealings  with  Moses  are  requested  to  write  to  me, 
giving  particulars. 

Since  my  yesterday's  advertisements  I  have  received 
a  large  amount  of  evidence  for  which  I  will  pay  fair 
prices. 

Address  WILLIAM  W.  WHITE, 
Care  of  THOMAS  W.  LAWSON. 

To  Whom  It  May  Concern: 

My  attention  having  been  called  to  an  attempt  upon 
the  part  of  a  band  of  professional  crooks  to  impugn  the 
motives  of  Willie  White,  I  herewith  give  notice  to  all 
interested  parties,  including  the  United  States  Post 
Office  authorities,  that  I  assume  full  responsibility, 
legal  and  other,  for  all  acts  of  said  Willie  White,  past, 
present  and  future,  including  offers  of  rewards. 

THOMAS  W.  LAWSON. 

Boston,  March  5,  1907. 

On  the  day  when  Lawson  penned  this 
advertisement,    three   sessions   of   the    Grand 

161 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

Jury  had  been  held  since  first  the  satchel 
came  into  the  possession  of  the  District  Attorney 
and  his  reference  to  "incriminating  evidence," 
in  the  face  of  the  fact  that  no  indictment  had 
ever  been  found,  was  a  direct  and  vicious 
reflection  on  the  attention  to  duty  of  District 
Attorney  Moran,  who  he  has  often  claimed 
is  his  friend.  I  credit  him,  however,  with  not 
thinking  of  this.  Maddened  by  the  toils 
which  at  that  date  were  gathering  more  and 
more  closely  about  him,  he  simply  struck  out 
like  a  cornered  snake,  without  thought  of  who 
might  be  injured  by  his  poisoned  fangs. 

To  such  depths  had  Lawson  on  that  fifth  of 
March  fallen,  that  not  a  soul  paid  any  atten- 
tion to  his  words,  other  than  to  grin  at  his 
tacit  admission  that  he — he,  the  lofty  adviser 
of  investors,  who  had  often  written  that  no 
words  of  his  should  ever  appear  over  any 
other  name  but  his — was  the  mysterious  and 
Lawson-touting  "William  W.  White." 

I  have  never  been  able  to  understand  Law- 
son's  reviving  of  the  Moses  story.  It  seems 
to  me  that  he  would  want  never  again  to  be 
reminded  of  it.  In  the  chill  silence  of  the 
grave,  where  sins  and  the  men  who  commit 
them    are    forgotten,    are    the    bones    of    his 

162 


A  PLOT  THAT  FAILED 

victim.  I  should  think  he  would  be  content 
to  let  them  lie  there  until  the  tombs  give  up 
their  dead.  If  he  had  a  conscience  he  would 
not  speak  of  Moses.  He  would  pray  not  to 
think  of  him.     He  would  hope  to  forget. 


1(i3 


Chapter  XVI 
INVESTIGATION  AND  VINDICATION 

IF    ANY    reader    should    pause    and    say 
to  himself,   "I   supposed    I  was    reading 
a     history     of     Financial     Thuggee     in 
America,  but  it  seems  I  am  reading  a  review  of 
the  war  between  King  and  Lawson, "  let  me 
answer  him  right  here. 

You  are  reading  a  review  of  the  battle  be- 
tween the  forces  led  by  Lawson  and  those  led 
by  me,  albeit  you  are  being  told  many  inside 
details  which  before  have  never  come  to  light; 
but  in  reading  of  that  war  you  are  perusing  a 
history  of  Financial  Thuggee  and  its  methods. 
A  hi  tory  of  the  campaigns  of  Alexander,  or 
Julius  Caesar,  or  Napoleon,  or  Washington, 
or  Grant,  or  Lee,  or  McClellan,  or  Jackson, 
must  of  necessity  be  made  up  largely  of  the 
operations  of  the  generals  in  charge  of  the 
forces  on  either  side.  And  here  was  the 
beginning  of  a  campaign  involving  tens  of 
thousands  of  American  investors  on  the  one 
hand,  and  all  the  powers  that  prey  upon  them 
on  the  other.     Because  I  represented  the  inves- 

164 


INVESTIGATION  AND  VINDICATION 

tors  and  Lawson  the  enemy,  it  is  true  history 
to  recount  how  I  endeavored  to  protect  those 
whose  interests  I  served  and  how  he  perfected 
his  campaigns  to  defeat  my  army— the  first 
and  most  logical  move  in  those  campaigns 
being  to  defeat  or  discredit  me.  With  the 
general  killed,  wounded  or  made  prisoner, 
the  battle  would  be  more  than  half  won. 

It  was  at  about  this  time  that  Lawson,  in 
his  usual  indirect  way,  began  to  attempt  to 
reach  me  through  the  Post  Office  Department, 
and  I  write  of  what  was  done  and  of  the  out- 
come not  because  of  any  desire  to  boom  any 
company  with  whose  fortunes  I  was  connected, 
but  because  it  is  part  of  the  history  of  that 
memorable  campaign. 

Letters  were  written  to  the  Post  Office 
Department  intimating- that  I  was  defrauding 
the  public  in  the  sale  of  stock  of  the  King- 
Crowther  Corporation.  They  were  vague  let- 
ters, making  no  direct  charges  but  filled  with 
insinuations.  After  a  number  of  them  had 
been  received  the  authorities  assigned  an 
inspector  to  look  into  the  matter. 

They  selected  for  this  duty  Inspector 
William  B.  Snow,  an  old  and  tried  govern- 
ment employee,   whose      ability      had      been 

165 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

shown  in  many  of  the  biggest  cases  the  govern- 
ment had  ever  had  under  investigation,  whose 
probity  had  stood  the  test  of  countless  tempta- 
tions, whose  fidelity  to  duty  in  the  face  of 
difficulties  had  won  commendations  from 
superiors  even  to  the  White  House  itself. 
Inspector  Snow,  for  a  number  of  years,  had 
been  detailed  principally  to  investigate  cases 
of  a  financial  nature — the  efforts  of  "get-rich- 
quick"  concerns  to  defraud  by  using  the  mails 
— the  airy,  factless  promises  of  unscrupulous 
promoters. 

In  the  course  of  his  investigations  of  King- 
Crowther,  Mr.  Snow  came  to  me.  I  answered 
the  charges  in  the  best  manner  I  could  think  of 
— by  placing  before  him  all  the  books  and 
papers  of  the  King-Crowther  Corporation,  by 
giving  him  all  the  information  in  my  power 
regarding  the  company,  its  history,  its  stock- 
holders and  its  properties,  and  by  inviting,  in 
every  possible  way,  a  complete  and  thorough 
investigation  of  its  activities  and  of  my  policy 
and  methods  in  acting  as  financial  agent  for 
its  securities. 

Although  I  am  ignorant  of  the  details  of  how 
he  performed  his  duties,  this  being  a  matter 
that  has   remained   locked   in   his   breast,   as 

166 


INVESTIGATION  AND  VINDICATION 

becomes  an  official  of  the  government,  I 
know  the  result.  He  violated  no  confidence 
in  telling  me  that.  It  was  my  due,  and  the 
due  of  the  investing  public,  and  he  made  to 
the  newspapers  a  public  statement  as  to  the 
net  results  of  his  investigations. 

He  investigated  earnestly  and  assiduously. 
The  results  of  his  labors  wTere  surprising,  in 
that  he  discovered  that  not  one  of  those  who 
had  made  vague  complaints  was  a  stockholder 
of  the  King-Crowrther  Corporation  or  a  cus- 
tomer of  mv  office  or  ever  had  been.  He  went 
further  and  interviewed  a  great  many  stock- 
holders. They  had  no  complaints  to  make. 
Then  he  looked  into  the  properties  them- 
selves. They  were  all  that  they  were  repre- 
sented to  be. 

As  a  result  Mr.  Snow  made  a  report  to  his 
superiors,  based  upon  the  facts,  which  headed 
off  the  Lawson  activities  in  this  direction — for 
it  was  strikingly  evident  that  Lawson  was  at 
the  bottom  of  the  fake  complaints — and  in  a 
statement  to  newspaper  reporters  who  sought 
him  for  information  regarding  the  matter,  he 
said  (I  quote  from  a  newspaper  clipping) : 

"I  feel  that  I  am  violating  no  confidence  in  saying 
that  in  all  the  years  I  have  been  in  the  Post  Office 

167 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

department  not  a  single  customer  of  C.  F.  King  has 
complained  to  the  department  regarding  any  stock  sold 
by  Mr.  King  or  in  regard  to  any  of  Mr.  King's  business 
methods." 

Although,  in  later  days,  I  came  to  know  Mr. 
Snow  very  well  indeed,  he  has  never  told  me 
the  details  of  his  investigation  of  those  fictitious 
complaints.  That  is  a  matter  between  him- 
self and  the  government. 

In  my  weekly  newspaper,  King's  Financial 
Bulletin,  I  conducted  a  "  Bureau  of  Investiga- 
tion," in  which,  without  charge  for  the  service, 
I  replied  to  queries  from  correspondents  re- 
garding any  and  all  securities  offered  for  sale, 
giving  advice  as  to  whether  or  not  they  were 
or  promised  to  be  a  good  investment.  As  my 
business  increased  in  size  and  in  its  demands 
upon  my  time,  I  naturally  became  unable  to 
give  the  necessary  hours  to  conducting  the 
thorough  investigation  necessary  if  this  depart- 
ment was  to  maintain  its  standard  of  accurary. 

I  looked  about  for  some  one  to  whom  I 
could  delegate  this  important  duty;  some  one 
whom  I  could  trust  to  endorse  the  good  and 
condemn  the  bad,  without  fear  or  favor,  whose 
standing  would  give  his  words  weight,  and 
whose  experience  would  fit  him  to  conduct  a 

168 


INVESTIGATION  AND  VINDICATION 

fair  and  thorough  investigation.  I  knew  of  no 
man  so  able  to  relieve  me  of  these  duties  as 
Inspector  Snow,  and  I  sent  for  him  and  of- 
fered him  a  position  on  my  staff  of  lieutenants. 

Immediately  after  accepting  his  new7  position 
Inspector  Snow  made,  at  my  request,  a  tour 
of  the  United  States,  visiting  the  properties 
of  the  various  corporations  whose  securities  I 
offered  for  sale.  His  journey  took  him  to 
Indiana  and  Ohio,  where  he  inspected  the 
large  oil  and  natural  gas  properties  of  the 
King-Crowrther  Corporation — with  a  total  of 
more  than  five  hundred  wells — and  to  Southern 
Texas,  where  he  carefully  went  over  the  prop- 
erties of  the  same  corporation,  there  in  a  less 
thoroughly  developed  state  but  possessing 
great  value  and  greater  possibilities.  He 
visited  industrial  concerns  whose  securities  I 
had  sold  and  was  at  that  time  offering  for 
subscription.  He  made  an  investigation  as 
thorough  as  though  he  were  making  it  for  the 
government. 

Mr.  Snow's  duties,  while  in  my  employ,  also 
included  investigation  into  the  merits  of  all 
propositions  which  I  was  invited  to  finance. 
At  that  time,  so  successful  had  I  been  in  secur- 
ing subscriptions  to  the  stock  of  the  corpora- 

169 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

tions  with  whose  activities  I  had  identified 
myself,  hundreds  of  corporations  with  securi- 
ties to  sell  were  seeking  my  aid.  There  were 
few  days  when  at  least  five  or  six  did  not  come 
to  my  office,  seeking  personal  interviews. 
Most  of  these  were  schemes  which,  upon  brief 
investigation,  were  at  once  dismissed.  Others, 
whose  plans  sounded  fair  and  equitable  at  first 
hearing,  proved  upon  careful  investigation  to 
have  some  "out"  that  precluded  me  from 
further  negotiations.  Before  agreeing  to  offer 
the  securities  of  a  corporation  for  sale,  I  had  to 
be  assured  that  the  capitalization  was  fair, 
that  the  history  was  clean,  that  the  manage- 
ment was  competent  enough  and  honest 
enough  to  work  for  the  interest  of  all  investors. 
How  few  stood  up  under  my  requirements  is 
evidenced  by  the  really  small  number  of 
corporations  whose  stock  I  have  ever  offered. 
In  delegating  to  another  this  work  of  investi- 
gation, you  may  readily  believe  that  I  must 
have  been  assured  of  his  ability  to  delve  deep 
into  things  that  are  hidden,  in  his  sagacity  of 
judgment  and  unclouded  clarity  of  view,  and 
in  his  absolute  and  unflinching  honesty — for 
I  doubt  not  that  the  man  in  that  position  for 
my  house  would  collide  with  many  a  tempta- 

170 


INVESTIGATION  AND  VINDICATION 

tion  to  make  more  than  his  salary.  That  I 
selected  Mr.  Snow  for  this  position  was  a 
tribute  to  the  ability,  sagacity  and  honesty 
which  I  observed  when  he  was  sent  to  probe 
deep  into  my  affairs.  A  dishonest  inspector — 
if  such  there  be — might  have  either  damned 
me  with  faint  praise  or  filed  a  cleverly  con- 
ceived report  that  would  have  reflected  upon 
me,  and  enriched  his  pocket-book  by  many 
thousands  of  dollars — which  Lawson  would 
have  temporarily  charged  to  profit  and  loss 
and  taken  out  of  the  public  on  the  occasion 
of  his  first  unexposed  advertising  campaign. 

It   has    always   impressed   me   as    a   really 
wonderful  thing,  that  out  of  all  the  thousands 
of  customers  of  my  office  not  one  had  ever 
made    a   complaint    against   me.     In   so   tre- 
mendous a  business,  it  was  surprising  that  not 
a  single  client  had  ever  had  cause  for  dis- 
satisfaction.    I  doubt  if  this  could  have  been 
true  of  any  other  financial  house  in  the  country 
of  half  the  size  and  scope  of  mine.     I  have 
always  regarded  it  as  one  of  the  finest  tributes 
my  methods  and  policies  have  ever  received. 
So,  by  means  of  a  thorough  and  complete 
investigation,     this     attempt    of    Lawson    to 
injure    my    business    went    the    way    of    the 

171 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR   CANDLES 

Coakley,  Coakley  &  Sherman  advertisement 
and  his  bribery  of  poor  old  Moses — into 
ignominious  failure. 

I  continued,  steadily,  to  expose  his  investor- 
mulcting  campaigns.  From  what  I  heard,  I 
gathered  that  his  ill-gotten  income  shrank. 

Then,  unable  to  kill  or  wound,  he  changed 
his  tactics  and  set  out  to  capture  me. 


172 


Chapter  XVII 
WHILE  THE  CITY  WAITED 

I  WAS  told,  one  afternoon,  that  Mayor 
John  F.  Fitzgerald  wanted  to  speak  to 
me  on  the  telephone. 

"Hello,  King!"  he  called,  when  I  had 
picked  up  the  receiver.  "How  are  you  this 
beautiful  day?" 

"  As  fine  as  the  weather, "  I  replied.  "What 
can  I  do  for  the  Lord  Mayor  of  Boston  ?" 

"I  want  to  see  you  for  a  few  moments." 

"All  right.     Come  right  over." 

"I  can't  do  it,  just  now.  I'm  tremen- 
dously busy.  Can't  you  see  me  after  working 
hours  ?" 

'  Certainly.  Come  over  at  your  own  con- 
venience.    I'll  wait." 

"No,"  said  the  Mayor,  "I'd  rather  not 
come  over  to  your  office.  You  know  how  the 
reporters  are  all  the  time  watching  where  I  go 
and  making  stories  about  it.  Can't  I  see  you 
somewhere  else?" 

I  thought  a  moment.  "How  about  mv 
room  at  Young's  Hotel  ?"  I  asked. 

173 


THE   LIGHT   OF  FOUR   CANDLES 

"That's  all  right.     Will  you  be  there  at  six 
o'clock  to-night?" 
ies. 

"I'll  be  there.     Health's  good,  I  suppose?" 

"Never  better." 

"Family  well?" 

"First  rate." 

"Glad  to  hear  it.  Well,  see  you  at  six. 
Good-bye." 

Although  not  all  readers  of  this  book  are 
residents  of  Boston,  I  am  sure  all  have  heard 
of,  and  know  by  reputation,  John  F.  Fitz- 
gerald, the  hustling  little  man  who  came  up 
from  the  North  End  of  Boston  to  be  member 
of  Congress  and  later  Mayor  of  the  city,  by 
virtue  of  his  own  pluck,  energy  and  perse- 
verance. "A  Bigger,  Busier  and  Better  Bos- 
ton" was  the  battle-cry  on  which  he  conducted 
his  mayoralty  campaign,  and  as  chief  executive 
of  the  city  he  was  certainly  a  hustler.  He 
and  I  had  met  a  number  of  times.  I  was 
on  the  same  terms  of  friendly  acquaintance 
with  him  that  several  hundred  other  Boston- 
ians  were. 

I  knew,  from  what  I  had  read  in  the  papers 
that  morning,  that  this  was  a  particularly 
busy  day  for  the  Mayor.     It  was  customary 

174 


WHILE  THE  CITY  WAITED 

for  him  to  keep  his  office  hours,  hold  con- 
ferences with  dozens  of  politicians,  watch  a 
meeting  or  two  of  city  bodies,  attend  a  ban- 
quet, lead  the  grand  march  at  a  ball  some- 
where within  the  city  limits,  and  sandwich 
three  or  four  speeches  in  between,  on  almost 
any  day — and  this  day,  even  in  the  face  of 
that  steady  diet,  was  a  busy  one.  What  had 
happened,  I  wondered,  that  had  led  him  to 
want  to  give  up  some  of  his  time  to  me.  I 
wondered  still  more  when  I  chanced  to  read, 
in  an  evening  paper,  that  an  important  meet- 
ing of  the  Common  Council  was  to  take  place 
that  evening,  and  that  prior  to  the  meeting 
the  Mayor  was  expected  to  discuss  certain 
matters  of  business  due  for  action  with  his 
representatives  in  that  branch  of  the  city 
government. 

A  few  minutes  before  six  o'clock  I  was  in 
my  suite  of  rooms  at  Young's,  when  Mayor 
Fitzgerald  arrived,  promptly  at  the  hour  set. 

The  Mayor  knocked  and,  at  my  call  of 
"Come,"  entered  hurriedly.  Nobody  ever 
saw  John  F.  Fitzgerald  dawdle,  and,  as  I  have 
said,  this  was  his  especially  busy  day.  He 
shook  hands  with  me  in  his  usual  brisk  manner 
and  looked  about  the  room.     He  crossed  to 

175 


THE   LIGHT   OF  FOUR   CANDLES 

the  window  and  drew  down  the  curtains. 
Then  he  looked  about  again,  noticed  that  the 
transom  over  the  door  into  the  hall  was  open, 
and  closed  it. 

"I  was  down  to  the  ball  game  at  New 
Haven,  King,"  he  began,  "and  on  the  train 
I  had  a  conversation  that  resulted  in  my  com- 
ing to  you." 

I  was  all  ears. 

"Tim  Coakley  was  on  the  train,"  the 
Mayor  continued,  "  and  he  and  I  got  to  talking. 
In  the  course  of  our  conversation  I  said, 
'  Tim,  why  are  you  getting  after  C.  F.  King  ?' 

"  '  We  aren't  getting  after  him — that's  just 
a  little  by-play  in  this  finance  game,'  said  Tim. 

"1  replied,  'Of  course  I  understand  that. 
Everybody  knows  that  it's  Lawson  that's 
getting  after  King.  I  wish,  Tim,  you'd  tell 
Tom  to  saw  off  on  that.  King's  a  friend  of 
mine,  and  I  don't  like  to  see  you  get  after  him 
like  that.' 

'Why,  to  tell  you  the  truth,  I  don't  know 
much  about  it,'  said  Tim.  'Dan  is  handling 
the  thing.  But  I'll  look  into  it.  Of  course  we 
don't  want  to  get  after  any  friend  of  yours  if 
we  can  help  it.  I'll  do  what  I  can  to  stop  it. ' 
'I  wish  you  would,'  said  I.     'It  won't  do 

176 


WHILE  THE  CITY  WAITED 

any  good  to  keep  this  fight  up.  King's  a 
good  fellow,  and  besides,  he'll  come  back  at 
Lawson  and  at  you  anyway,  and  you  won't 
any  of  you  make  anything  out  of  it. ' 

" '  All  right, '  said  Tim.  '  I'll  do  what  I  can. 
I'll  talk  to  Dan  about  it  just  as  soon  as  I  get 
back  to  Boston.' 

"Now  you  may  think  I'm  'butting  in'  on 
your  business,"  continued  the  Mayor,  "but 
I  don't  like  to  see  you  and  Tom  Lawson 
fighting.  It  isn't  good  for  either  one  of  you, 
and  it  isn't  a  good  thing  for  the  city.  You'll 
keep  on  fighting  and  calling  each  other  names, 
and  the  first  thing  you  know  the  public  will 
believe  you're  the  pot  and  the  kettle,  and  that 
both  of  you  are  black.  There  isn't  any  use 
in  all  this  stirring  up  of  trouble.  I  want  to 
get   you   two   men   together." 

"How?"  I  asked.  "What  can  we  get 
together  on?  We  have  no  methods  in 
common.  I'm  ever  so  much  obliged  to  you 
for  taking  an  interest  in  the  matter,  and  I'm 
particularly  glad  to  hear  that  Coakley  admits 
it  is  Lawson  that  is  back  of  those  advertise- 
ments, for  I've  been  trying  to  find  out  for 
certain.  But  I  don't  see  how  Lawson  and  I 
can  ever  'get  together'  on  anything." 

177 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR   CANDLES 

'Well,  if  you  can't  do  that,  at  least  stop 
fighting,"  urged  Fitzgerald.  "Let  it  pass 
this  time.  Stop  getting  after  him  on  account 
of  that  advertisement.  I'll  see  that  there's 
no  more  of  it.  Forget  it,  and  pass  it  up.  I'd 
like  to  see  you  two  fellows  friendly,  but  if 
you  can't  be  friendly,  at  least  quit  scrapping 
all  the  time.  Now  the  Coaklevs  are  friends 
of  mine,  and  Tom  Lawson's  a  friend  of  mine, 
and  if  you'll  stop,  they  will." 

"I'd  like  to  do  anything  I  could  for  you," 
I  replied,  'but  I'm  afraid  what  you  have 
outlined  is  much  more  easily  said  than  done." 

At  this  moment  there  was  a  soft  tap  on  the 
door  and  when  I  opened  it  one  of  the  Mayor's 
secretaries  stood  in  the  hallway. 

"  What  is  it  ?"  asked  the  Mayor. 

"We're  all  ready,"  said  the  secretary. 

"All  right.  Tell  'em  to  wait.  I'll  be  there 
soon,"  said  Fitzgerald,  sharply,  and  the  sec- 
retary withdrew. 

"It  isn't  so  hard,"  persisted  the  Mayor. 
"Just  quit.  That's  all.  Just  stop  hammer- 
ing Lawson  and  he'll  stop  hammering  you." 

"Tell  me  straight,  Mayor,"  I  said.  "Are 
you  directly  representing  Lawson  in  this  con- 
versation ?" 

178 


WHILE  THE  CITY  WAITED 

"I'm  a  friend  of  everybody  concerned/' 
said  the  Mayor.  "I  want  to  see  the  fight 
stop." 

"Does  Lawson  want  it  to  stop,  too?" 

"It's  a  bad  thing  for  both  of  you,  and  it's  a 
bad  thing  for  the  city  of  Boston.  You 
fellows  call  each  other  names  and  the  impres- 
sion goes  abroad  that  Boston  financiers  are 
that  sort.  That's  another  reason  I  would 
like  to  see  it  stop,"  said  the  Mayor. 

"I'm  sorry,"  I  said.  "But  I'm  afraid  it 
can't  be  done.  The  only  thing  that  will 
cause  me  to  let  up  on  Lawson  is  for  him  to  do 
his  business  differently,  and  it's  pretty  hard 
for  the  leopard  to  change  his  spots — and  too 
much  to  expect,  I  suppose." 

"Will  you  let  up  on  this  present  attack?" 
asked  the  Mayor.  "  I'll  see  that  Lawson  calls 
Tim  and  Dan  Coakley  off,  if  you  will." 

"I  can't  promise,"  I  said.  'It  depends  so 
much  on  what  Lawson  does  himself  that  I 
can't  agree  to  anything.  I'll  do  anything  I 
properly  can  for  you,  and  I  appreciate  what 
you  are  doing  for  me,  and  the  trouble  and  time 
you  are  taking,  but  you  will  see  yourself  that 
I  can't  promise  to  stop  criticising  Lawson." 

"Well,  you  won't  go  out  of  your  way  to 

179 


THE   LIGHT   OF   FOUR   CANDLES 


get  after  him  if  he  lets  up  on  his  fight  against 
you  ? 

"I  won't  go  out  of  my  way  to  get  after 
him  at  any  time,"  I  said. 

With  that  the  Mayor  seemed  content.  He 
looked  at  his  watch  with  an  exclamation  as  to 
the  lateness  of  the  hour,  and,  shaking  hands 
hurriedly,  hustled  down  the  hallway. 

The  machinery  of  the  city  had  halted  for 
fifteen  minutes  while  he  labored  with  me.  I 
have  always  marveled  a  little  at  this. 

The  Coakley,  Coakley  &  Sherman  activi- 
ties ceased  on  the  following  day. 


180 


Chapter  XVIII 
A  MILLION-DOLLAR  BRIBE 

AT  ABOUT  this  time  I  was  very  busy. 
Not  only  were  there  many  activ- 
ities in  the  corporations  with  whose 
affairs  I  was  connected,  but  I  was  about  to 
start  a  daily  newspaper,  and  the  assembling 
of  a  staff  for  it  was  taking  up  a  great  deal  of  my 
time  and  attention.  I  continued,  without 
deviation,  my  usual  policy  of  endorsing  the 
good  and  condemning  the  bad  in  finance. 

One  day  an  especially  glaring  scheme  to 
entrap,  backed  by  some  of  Boston's  most 
eminent  financiers,  called  for  exposure  and 
condemnation.  A  day  or  so  later  word  came 
to  me  that  a  syndicate  was  being  formed  in 
State  Street  whose  purpose  was  to  put  me  for- 
ever out  of  business. 

At  first  I  paid  no  attention  to  the  rumor, 
having  heard  similar  ones  before,  but  it  was 
repeated,  and  finally  I  was  told  that  Kidder, 
Peabody  &  Company,  the  strongest  financial 
house  in  Boston,  was  a  subscriber  to  the  fund. 

I  called  Mayor  Fitzgerald  on  the  telephone 

181 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

and  asked  him  if  he  would  do  me  the  favor  of 
calling  on  his  friend  Robert  Winsor,  an  im- 
portant member  of  the  house  of  Kidder, 
Peabody  &  Company,  and  learning  for  me 
whether  it  was  true  that  that  company  was 
interested  in  the  syndicate. 

"You  can  tell  him  you  come  at  my  request 
if  you  want  to,"  I  said.     "And  you  can  tell 
him  further  that  I  don't  give  a  tinker's  dam  for 
any  combination  that  may  be  formed  to  put 
me  out  of  business,  but  I'd  just  like  to  know 
whether  a  house  like  Kidder,  Peabody  &  Com- 
pany will  participate  in  such  a  scheme.     I've 
got  so  used  to  having  a  fight  on  my  hands  that  I 
rather  like  it,  and  if  Winsor  says  they  are  in  it  I 
wish  you  would  tell  him  that  I'll  fight  all  the 
syndicates  they  can  form — that  I  had  just  as 
leave  fight  them  all  in  a  bunch  as  singly." 
" I'll  do  it,"  promised  the  Mayor. 
Two  or  three  days  passed  and  Mayor  Fitz- 
gerald called  me  on  the  'phone  to  say  that  he 
had  seen  Winsor,  who  had  told  him  that  Kid- 
der, Peabody    &   Company  were  not  in  the 
syndicate.     Soon  after  this  I  heard  that  the 
scheme  had  fallen  through,  probably  in  the 
usual  manner — the  various  parties  to  it  being 
unwilling  to  trust  one  another. 

182 


A  MILLION-DOLLAR  BRIBE 

And  now,  in  the  course  of  my  day's  work,  it 
became   again   necessary   for   me   to   mention 
Lawson.     Of  course  I  did  not  hesitate  to  do 
so.     A  few  days  thereafter  I  heard,  indirectly, 
that  he  had  said  I  was  unjust  to  him  in  that 
I   blamed  him  for  the   Coakley,  Coakley    & 
Sherman  advertisement,   with  which  he  had 
no  connection  whatever.     This  report  came  to 
me  from  such  a  source  that  I  felt,  even  in  the 
face  of  my  conversation  some  time  before  with 
Mayor  Fitzgerald,  and  his  report  of  what  'Tim' 
Coakley  said,  that  there  might  be  a  possibility 
—a  very  slight  possibility— that  I  had  made  an 
error.     I    felt    willing    to    give    Lawson    the 
benefit  of  the  doubt,   and  on  the   day   after 
Christmas  I  sent  him  the  following  letter: 

PERSONAL 

Boston,  December  26,  1906. 

Mr.  Thomas  W.  Lawson, 

Room  74,  Young's  Hotel, 

Boston,  Massachusetts. 

Dear  Sir: 

First,  let  me  say  to  you  that  this  letter  is  being 
written  without  consultation  with  my  attorney  or  any- 
body whomsoever. 

I  wish  mainly  to  ask  you  as  man  to  man 
and  without  the  intermediary  of  a  third  person  whether 
or  not  you  were  in  any  manner  whatever  responsible 

183 


THE   LIGHT   OF  FOUR   CANDLES 

or  interested,  either  directly  or  indirectly,  in  the  adver- 
tisement printed  in  some  of  the  Boston  newspapers  a 
few  weeks  ago,  addressed  "To  the  Holders  of  King- 
Crowther,  Norton  Oil,  and  Douglas  Stock,"  and  signed 
by  Messrs.  Coakley,  Coakley  &  Sherman,  Counsellors- 
at-Law. 

I  have  a  very  strong  personal  reason  for  wishing  to 
ascertain  this  information  from  you  at  first  hand;  if  I 
did  not,  you  may  rest  assured  I  would  not  trouble  you 
in  the  matter  at  all. 

I  would  thank  you  to  send  to  my  office  some  time 
during  Thursday  a  personal  letter  giving  clearly  and 
definitely  your  answer  to  this  inquiry,  and  will  state  in 
advance  that  such  a  communication  from  you  will  be 
treated  in  strict  confidence  by  me. 

Yours  very  trulv, 

C.  F.  KING. 

The  reply,  which  was  written  on  the  follow- 
ing day,  came  from  one  of  Lawson's  assistant 
secretaries — one  Richard  J.  Burton.  We  shall 
hear  more  of  him — considerably  more — before 
this  book  is  finished. 

It  is  a  rather  remarkable  communication  in 
more  ways  than  one,  and  I  perused  it  with 
mingled  feelings.     It  read: 

Boston,  December  27,  1906. 
Dear  Sir: 

Yours  of  the  26th  inst.,  to  Mr.  Lawson  received  by 
me  owing  to  the  absence  of  Mr.  Lawson's  secretary. 

184 


A  MILLION-DOLLAR  BRIBE 

I  regret  it  is  impossible  to  lay  the  same  before  him 
without  further  explanation  from  you  to  accompany  my 
report  in  placing  your  request  before  him. 

Under  Mr.  Lawson's  office  rules  all  mail  is  opened  by 
his  secretary  or  his  assistant,  and  all  matters  pertaining 
to  new  business  are  attended  to  by  the  office  unless  in 
the  opinion  of  his  secretary  they  require  Mr.  Lawson's 
personal  attention.  I  feel  quite  sure  the  subject  matter 
of  your  letter  would  not  require  Mr.  Lawson's  personal 
attention,  and  unless  I  have  additional  reasons  for  bring- 
ing it  to  his  attention  I  will  not  do  so. 

I  give  you  the  following  explanations  that  you  may 
understand  why  what  seems  to  be  an  urgent  matter  to 
you  should  be  delayed  in  getting  to  Mr.  Lawson. 

First,  Mr.  Lawson  never  receives  confidential  com- 
munications from  any  one. 

Second,  all  of  Mr.  Lawson's  advertisements  appear 
over  his  signature. 

Third,  Mr.  Lawson  would  consider  his  office  derelict 
in  their' duty  in  presuming  to  ask  for  information  in 
regard  to  a  subject  he  considered  personal. 

Assuring  you  that  if  in  an  additional  communication 
you  show  why  your  request  should  be  laid  before  Mr. 
Lawson,  I  will  see  that  it  is  forthwith.     Believe  me. 

Very  respectfully, 

R.  J.  BURTON, 
Asst.  Secretary  to  Thomas  W.  Lawson. 

Mr.  C.  F.  King, 

Journal  Building, 
Boston,  Mass. 

185 


THE   LIGHT  OF  FOUR   CANDLES 

Lawson  having  instructed  his  secretary  to 
attend  to  the  matter,  I  followed  the  same 
course,  and  the  following  letter  went  back  to 
the  Lawson  headquarters: 

Journal  Building,  Boston,  December  27. 
Mr.  R.  J.  Burton, 

Assistant  Secretary  to  Thomas  W.  Lawson, 
Room  74,  Young's  Hotel, 

Boston,  Massachusetts. 
Dear  Sir: 

Your  letter  of  December  27,  addressed  to  Mr.  King, 
has  been  received.  I  am  instructed  by  Mr.  King  to 
say  to  you  that  his  reasons  for  addressing  his  letter  of 
yesterday  to  Mr.  Lawson  are  set  forth  in  the  sentence 
of  that  letter,  which  reads  as  follows: 

"7  have  a  very  strong  personal  reason  for  wishing  to 
ascertain  this  information  from  you  at  first  hand;  if  I  did 
not,  you  may  rest  assured  that  I  would  not  trouble  you  in 
the  matter  at  a//." 

Mr.  King  wishes  me  to  say  to  you  that  if  you  do  not 
consider  the  matter  of  sufficient  importance  to  bring  to 
Mr.  Lawson 's  attention  you  may  throw  the  letter  into 
the  waste  basket  and  think  nothing  more  about  it. 

Respectfully, 

L.  L.  LEWIS, 

Private  Secretary. 

Lawson  did  not  throw  the  letter  into  the 
waste  basket.     Neither  did  he  ignore  it. 

On  the  following  day  a  tall,   light-haired, 

186 


A  MILLION-DOLLAR  BRIBE 

shrewd-looking  young  man  called  at  my  office. 
"I  am  Mr.  McSweeney,  private  secretary  to 
Mr.  Thomas  W.  Lawson,"  he  said  to  the 
young  woman  who  rose  to  ask  his  business  in 
the  reception  room,  "  and  I  would  like  to  see 
Mr.  King." 

I  instructed  her  to  show  him  in  at  once,  and 
received  him  with  courtesy. 

Edward  A.  McSweeney  is  an  able  young 
man.  Prior  to  filling  the  most  confidential 
position  that  Lawson  has  in  his  establishment, 
he  was  a  New  York  newspaper  man,  and  a 
successful  one.  He  has  been  with  Lawson 
several  years  and  is  a  faithful  and  very  high- 
salaried  employee.  This  must  be  so,  for  if 
he  were  not  faithful  Lawson  would  not  keep 
him,  and  if  he  were  not  high-salaried  he  would 
not  work  for  Lawson. 

Mr.  McSweeney  was  suave  and  business- 
like. He  said  that  he  came  representing  Mr 
Lawson,  to  correct  an  impression  that  I 
seemed,  by  my  letter,  to  have  regarding  the 
advertisement  published  over  the  name  of 
Coakley,  Coakley  &  Sherman. 

"Mr.  Lawson  had  nothing  whatever  to  do 
with  that  advertisement,  Mr.  King,"  he  said. 
"On   the   contrary,    Mr.    Lawson   feels   very 

187 


THE   LIGHT  OF  FOUR   CANDLES 

friendly  toward  you,  and  hopes  you  are  doing 
well." 

"  I  am  doing  quite  well,  thank  you,"  I  said. 

"Mr.  Lawson  is  pleased  at  that,"  said  Mr. 
Mc£weeney.  "But  he  does  feel,  Mr.  King, 
that  you  ought  not  to  bother  his  campaigns  in 
Trinity." 

"Why?"  I  asked. 

"Because  he  is  trying  to  make  a  success  of 
Trinity,  and  he  feels  that  you  are  standing  in 
the  way  of  that  success.  He  feels  about 
Trinity  just  as  you  undoubtedly  feel  about 
the  King-Crowther  Corporation.  He  wants 
it  to  be  a  monument  to  his  energy." 

"I  certainly  hope  he'll  succeed,"  I  replied. 
"  I  hope  he'll  make  the  stock  of  Trinity  worth 
two  hundred  dollars  a  share.  But  the  stock 
isn't  worth  that  figure  now,  and  I'm  afraid  Mr. 
Lawson  has  a  lot  of  work  cut  out  for  him  to 
make  it  worth  that  or  even  one-tenth  of  that. " 

"But  that  wasn't  what  I  came  over  to  say," 
continued      Mr.      McSweenev.      "I      merelv 

t/  V 

dropped  in  to  correct  the  false  impression 
that  you  seem  to  have  about  that  advertise- 
ment signed  by  Coakley,  Coakley  &  Sher- 
man. Mr.  Lawson  did  not  have  anything 
whatever  to  do  with  it." 

188 


A  MILLION-DOLLAR  BRIBE 

"I'm  glad  to  hear  it,"  I  said.  "But  I've 
gathered  quite  a  lot  of  evidence  to  the  effect 
that  he  did,  and  in  view  of  that  I  naturally  feel 
that  Mr.  Lawson  should  not  expect  me  to 
believe  a  mere  verbal  denial,  and  that  through 
a  second  party.  I  should  appreciate  it,  Mr. 
McSweeney,  if  you  would  ask  Mr.  Lawson 
to  write  me  a  letter  over  his  signature,  assuring 
me  that  he  was  in  no  way  responsible  for  the 
Coakley,  Coakley  &  Sherman  advertisement. 
He  certainly  cannot  object  to  that— if  it  is  true 
that  he  had  nothing  to  do  with  it." 

"I  can  assure  you  he  didn't,"  said  Mr. 
McSweeney. 

"You'll  pardon  me,"  I  replied,  "if  I  say 
I'd  rather  he  would  say  so  himself." 

"  I  want  to  do  what  I  can  to  smooth  out  the 
misunderstanding,"  said  Mr.  McSweeney, 
"and  I  shall  endeavor  to  see  Mr.  Lawson  at 
once  and  take  up  the  matter  with  him.  Per- 
haps I  shall  return  with  his  answer." 

"You  needn't  bother  to  do  that,  Mr.  Mc- 
Sweeney, "  I  said.  "  Tell  him  just  to  drop  the 
letter  in  the  mail  and  it  will  be  all  right." 

"Very  well,"  replied  Mr.  McSweeney,  and 
rose.  "I'm  very  sorry,  Mr.  King,  that  you 
have  this  feeling  about  Mr.  Lawson,  because 

189 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 


Mr.    Lawson     is     a    mighty    good    fellow." 

"I  don't  doubt  it,"  I  said.  "That  is  one 
reason  why  I  think  he  will  be  very  glad  to 
clear  my  mind  of  the  feeling  that  he  was 
responsible  for  the  advertisement." 

"He  isn't  that  kind  of  a  man  at  all," 
earnestly  said  Mr.  McSweeney.  "Mr.  Law- 
son  is  a  fighter,  and  he  fights  out  in  the  open. 
You  remember  when  he  went  after  Rogers 
and  Rockefeller.  There  was  nothing  under- 
handed or  underground  in  that.  He  just  went 
right  after  them,  in  the  open.  That's  the  way 
he  fights." 

"That  is  certainly  the  way  to  fight,"  I 
agreed. 

"You  fight  that  way,"  urged  Mr.  Mc- 
Sweeney, "and  it  seems  to  me  you  ought  to 
give  Mr.  Lawson  credit  for  doing  the  same." 

I  smiled.  "  At  the  same  time  I'd  like  to  have 
his  assurance  that  he  had  nothing  to  do  with 
the  Coakley,  Coakley  &  Sherman  advertise- 
ment, in  writing,"  I  persisted. 

"I  shall  try  to  see  him  at  once,"  concluded 
Mr.  McSweeney,  and  left  the  office. 

The  natural  thought  in  my  mind  was  that 
Lawson  had  sent  his  secretary  to  me  because 
he  did  not  want  to  place  in  my  possession  any 

190 


A  MILLION-DOLLAR  BRIBE 

documentary  evidence.  I  firmly  believed  that 
Lawson  had  been  back  of  the  hostile  advertis- 
ing. If  he  had  not,  however,  I  wanted  to 
know  who  had  been,  in  order  to  keep  track 
of  my  enemies.  If  Lawson  had  absolutely 
denied,  over  his  signature,  that  he  was  re- 
sponsible, I  should  have  felt  that  perhaps  he 
was  not  alone  to  blame ;  it  seemed  incredible  to 
me  that  he  would  take  the  chance  of  having  me 
prove  the  act  in  the  face  of  his  disavowal  of  it. 

Not  an  hour  had  passed  before  Mr.  Mc- 
Sweeney  again  appeared  at  my  office  and  sent 
in  his  name. 

Now  Lawson  has  a  large  establishment, 
with  a  number  of  private  secretaries,  a  small 
army  of  clerks  and  bookkeepers  and  stenog- 
raphers, and  plenty  of  messengers.  Mr.  Mc- 
Sweeney  is  popularly  believed  to  be  the  highest- 
salaried  employee  in  the  lot,  and  the  first 
thought  that  occurred  to  me  when  he  was 
announced  for  the  second  time  was  that  it 
was  rather  unusual  for  him  to  be  performing 
the  duties  of  a  five-dollar-a-week  messenger 
boy.  I  had  the  clerk  show  him  in  immediately. 
He  came  in  briskly. 

"Back  again,  Mr.  King,"  he  said,  with  a 
smile. 

191 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

"Really,  you're  taking  too  much  trouble," 
I  protested.  "It  wasn't  necessary  to  come 
back.  You  could  have  dropped  the  letter  in 
the  mail  chute  and  it  would  have  been  de- 
livered in  an  hour  or  two." 

Mr.  McSweeney  went  right  at  business. 
"I  laid  that  matter  before  Mr.  Lawson,"  he 
said,  "  and  he  does  not  want  to  write  the  letter 
you  request.  He  does  not  feel  that  it  should 
be  necessary  for  him  to  write  about  that 
matter.  In  fact,  Mr.  King,  he  was  very  pro- 
voked at  me  for  having  interrupted  him  to 
suggest  it — said  I  ought  not  to  make  such  a 
suggestion.  I  would  not  have  done  so  if  you 
hadn't  been  so  insistent  about  it,  as  I  explained 
to  him.  Mr.  Lawson  said  he  didn't  have  any- 
thing to  do  with  those  advertisements,  but 
there  was  no  reason  why  he  should  write  any 
letters  denying  it,  as  there  was  no  reason  for 
you  or  anybody  else  to  believe  that  he  did  it. 
That  was  all  he  had  to  say  about  it.  He 
passed  it  up  just  like  that." 

"All  right,  Mr.  McSweeney,"  I  said.  "I 
thank  you  for  coming  over." 

"Yes,"  said  Mr.  McSweeney,  "I'm  sorry, 
but  he  passed  it  up  just  like  that." 

"All   right,"    I    repeated,    using   the   same 

192 


it 


A  MILLION-DOLLAR  BRIBE 

phrase.     "If  that's  the  way  he  passed  it  up, 
all  right." 

I  was  smiling  broadly,  and  very  evidently 
there  showed  in  my  face  the  certainty  I  now 
had  that  my  proof  of  Lawson' s  responsibility 
for  the  attacks  had  not  been  incorrect.  Mr. 
McSweeney  hastened  to  add: 

I  want  you  to  feel  right  about  it." 
Oh,  I  feel  all  right  toward  you,  Mr.  Mc- 
Sweeney,"   I    said.     "You    have    done    your 
best." 

"I  want  you  to  feel  right  about  Mr.  Law- 
son's  connection  with  it,  too,"  he  said.  "I 
want  you  to  feel  that  he  had  nothing  to  do 
with  those  advertisements." 

"As  to  that,"  said  I,  "I  stand  where  I  stood 
before.  If  he  writes  a  letter  stating  over  his 
signature  that  he  was  not  responsible  I  may 
feel  differently." 

There  was  a  pause.  Mr.  McSweeney 
seemed  to  be  thinking  of  a  way  to  say  some- 
thing: that  was  on  his  mind.  Then  he  said, 
abruptly,  "Why  don't  you  and  Mr.  Lawson 
get  together?" 

"Get  together?"  I  repeated.  "In  what 
way  r 

"Mr.  Lawson  isn't  bothering  any  of  your 

193 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR   CANDLES 

stocks.  Why  don't  you  let  him  alone?" 
"Mr.  Lawson's  affairs  and  mine  are  dif- 
ferent," I  said,  "very  much  different.  His 
stocks  are  manipulated — he  manipulates  them 
— and  mine  are  not  manipulated.  I  have 
nothing  whatever  against  Mr.  Lawson  per- 
sonally, but  so  far  as  the  policy  of  my  office  is 
concerned  I  must  continue  to  advise  those 
who  write  me  for  advice  according  to  what  I 
believe  to  be  true.  I  must  do  this  whether  the 
stock  under  discussion  is  Big  Steel  and  Union 
Pacific  or  Trinity  and  Arcadian — which  Mr. 
Lawson  says  offer  such  wonderful  investment 
opportunities.  I  have  to  do  it.  I  cannot  do 
business  in  any  other  way." 

Mr.  McSweeney  nodded  as  in  agreement. 
Then  he  went  on,  earnestly: 

"Mr.  King,  I  want  to  tell  you  that  Mr. 
Lawson  hasn't  anything  against  you,  any 
more  than  you  have  anything  against  him — 
nothing  at  all.  You  may  think  he  has  been 
fighting  you — that  he  has  been  doing  this  or 
doing;  that — but  whether  he  has  or  not  he  has 
nothing  whatever  against  you  personally.  And 
you  and  Lawson  are  not  so  far  apart  in  your 
ideas.  Lawson  has  fought  some  of  the  big 
ones,  and  you  have  fought  some  of  the  big 

194 


A  MILLION-DOLLAR  BRIBE 

ones.  He  is  older  at  it,  and  more  powerful 
than  you  are — or  can  hope  to  be." 

I  nodded.     "I  grant  you  that,"  I  said. 

"  Why  wouldn't  it  be  a  good  idea  for  you  to 
meet  him  some  day?"  he  asked,  as  though  it 
were  a  sudden  and  original  thought. 

"I  have  never  dodged  meeting  him;  I  prob- 
ably never  shall,"  I  said.  "I  am  not  seeking 
an  interview  with  Mr.  Lawson.  I  shall  not 
seek  one.  I  suppose  if  I  were  standing  in  a 
room  and  he  chanced  to  be  present,  and  some- 
one introduced  us,  I  should  shake  hands  with 
him  and  say  '  Glad  to  meet  you,  Mr.  Lawson. 
I've  heard  of  you  often.' " 

Mr.  McSweeney  considered  for  a  moment. 

"Well,"  he  said,  weighing  his  words,  "I 
can  say  to  you,  Mr.  King — I  would  not  say 
that  it  comes  from  Mr.  Lawson — " 

Foreseeing  the  trend  of  the  sentence  I  inter- 
rupted him  sharply.  "Will  you  say  it  does 
not  come  from  Mr.  Lawson  ?  Because  if  so 
you  need  not  say  it." 

" I  would  not  say  that  it  does  not,"  said  Mr. 
McSweeney,  still  weighing  his  words  with  the 
air  of  one  intrusted  with  an  important  errand, 
"and  I  would  not  say  that  it  does."  He 
hesitated — then  added: 

195 


THE   LIGHT  OF  FOUR   CANDLES 

"  You  can  make  a  great  deal  of  money  by 
understanding  Lawson  better." 

"  Just  what  do  you  mean  by  that  ?"  I  asked. 

"Oh,"  he  replied,  glancing  quickly  at  me 
to  see,  I  suppose,  what  impression  was  being 
made,  "  Mr.  Lawson  might  give  you  some 
information,  sometime,  that  would  do  you  a 
lot  of  good." 

"I'm  afraid  any  information  Mr.  Lawson 
gave  me  wouldn't  help  me  much,"  I  said. 
"You  see,  I  do  not  speculate."  I  paused. 
"Look  here,  Mr.  McSweeney,"  I  continued, 
with  some  insistence,  "  you  don't  say  that  that 
message  comes  from  Mr.  Lawson." 

"I  don't  say  that  it  does  or  doesn't,"  he 
agreed. 

I  wanted  to  get  at  the  bottom  of  the  matter. 

"If  you  have  a  business  proposition  to  sub- 
mit to  me,"  I  said,  "you  may  submit  it,  but 
let's  have  it  from  'the  old  man'  himself.  If 
you've  got  one  to  make  from  him,  let's  have 
it.  If  you  haven't,  and  he  has,  then  go  back 
and  get  it.  And  if  it  is  one  that  I  can  handle, 
I'll  listen  to  it.  But  I'm  pretty  busy — I'm 
going  to  start  a  newspaper  in  a  few  days — " 

'We  are  very  much  interested  in  the  new 
paper,"   interrupted   Mr.   McSweeney. 

196 


A  MILLION-DOLLAR  BRIBE 

"Is  that  so?"  I  said,  as  an  idea  struck  me. 
"Well,  if  Mr.  Lawson  is  really  not  unfriendly 
to  me,  as  you  say,  and  is  interested  in  my  new 
paper,  tell  him  I'd  be  glad  to  print  an  article 
from  him  in  the  first  issue.  He's  a  clever  man 
with  his  pen,  and  we  can  use  about  a  half- 
column  from  him." 

"I'll  see  what  he  says,"  said  Mr.  Mc- 
Sweeney,  rising  to  go.  "And  I'll  take  up  that 
other  matter  with  him  right  away." 

Not  long  afterward  he  was  back  again. 

"Mr.  Lawson  is  sorry,"  he  said,  "but  he  is 
too  busy  to  write  that  article  for  the  Boston 
Daily  Tribune.  He  is  going  down  to  Dream- 
wold  pretty  soon  and  has  a  lot  of  appoint- 
ments and  other  business,  and  he  doesn't  see 
how  he  can  get  around  to  it  in  time  for  the  first 
issue." 

"All  right,"  I  said. 

Mr.  McSweeney  came  near  to  me  and 
lowered  his  voice. 

"As  to  the  other  matter,"  he  said,  "if  you 
will  come  to  a  better  understanding  with  Mr. 
Lawson  you  can  make  a  million  dollars  in  the 
next  six  months." 

"Is  that  a  direct  message  from  Mr.  Law- 
son?"  I  asked. 

197 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR   CANDLES 

"That  I  cannot  say,"  replied  Mr.  Mc- 
Sweeney.  "But  it  will  be  to  your  advantage 
to  have  an  understanding  with  him." 

I  gathered  that  Mr.  McSweeney  had  now 
gone  as  far  as  Lawson's  instructions  would 
allow.     So  I  hastened  to  close  the  interview. 

"Mr.  McSweeney,"  I  said,  "you  say  that 
Mr.  Lawson  will  not  write  an  article  for  the 
first  issue  of  the  Boston  Daily  Tribune?" 

"He  hasn't  time." 

"  And  Mr.  Lawson  will  not  write  a  letter  say- 
ing that  he  was  not  responsible  for  the  Coakley, 
Coakley  &  Sherman  advertisements?" 

"He  doesn't  think  you  ought  to  expect  him 
to  do  that." 

"  And  he  won't  authorize  you  to  say  that  he 
is  responsible  for  the  suggestion  that  I  can 
make  a  large  sum  of  money  '  by  understanding 
him  better '  ?" 

Mr.  McSweeney  was  silent. 

I  rose  to  terminate  the  interview.  "I 
thank  you  for  coming  here,  Mr.  McSweeney, 
and  for  all  the  time  you  have  given  me.  But 
we  cannot  do  any  business  together." 

Mr.  McSweeney  bowed,  murmured  the 
usual  polite  things  about  being  glad  to  have 
met  me,  and  hurried  away. 

198 


A  MILLION-DOLLAR  BRIBE 

A  million  dollars  in  six  months!  A  million 
dollars!  Almost  twice  as  much  money  as  I 
then  possessed  and  a  larger  sum  than  I  had 
ever  seen  at  one  time!  A  million  dollars!  A 
massive,  magnificent  fortune!  And  the  only 
service  to  be  rendered  to  win  this  million  was 
to  quit  exposing  the  games  of  Lawson.  All 
I  had  to  do  to  pocket  the  bribe  was  to  reverse 
my  policy — be  false  to  my  friends  and  dis- 
loyal to  my  clients.  Merely  to  play  the  game 
in  the  Lawson  way,  that  was  all. 

I  wondered  what  plan  was  afoot  in  the  Law- 
son  headquarters  to  inaugurate  a  campaign  so 
vast  that  a  million  dollars  would  be  a  small 
share  of  the  spoils.  Within  less  than  three 
months  I  knew,  for  first  came  a  quick,  sharp, 
heart-breaking  and  purse-breaking  Trinity 
boom,  and  then  the  cruel,  vicious  Nevada- 
Utah  swindle.  In  these  two  campaigns,  even 
in  the  face  of  my  exposures  and  warnings, 
Lawson  is  said  to  have  cleaned  up  more  than 
three  million  dollars.  Had  I  remained  quies- 
cent and  allowed  the  lambs  to  go  to  the 
slaughter  without  a  word  of  warning,  the 
profit  would  have  been  ten  millions.  And  a 
million  dollars  would  have  been  mine,  merely 
for  saying,  on  that  day: 

199 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

"All  right,  Mr.  McSweeney.  Mr.  Lawson 
and  I  will  get  acquainted.  We  will  'know 
each  other  better.'     We  will  pull  together." 

We  read  and  hear  much,  in  these  muck- 
raking days,  of  bribes,  bribers  and  bribe-takers. 
How  many  million-dollar  bribes  have  ever 
been  declined  with  thanks,  I  wonder. 

I  append  the  following  affidavit,  in  corrob- 
oration of  the  story  I  have  told  in  this  chapter : 

COMMONWEALTH    OF    MASSACHUSETTS 

County  of  Suffolk,  ss. 

Personally  appeared  before  me  Marie  A.  Ross,  who, 
on  oath,  says:  That  she  is  employed  in  the  office  of  C. 
F.  King,  in  Boston,  in  the  capacity  of  reception  room 
clerk,  and  that  on  the  28th  day  of  December,  1906,  a 
gentleman  called  at  Mr.  King's  office  and  announced 
that  he  desired  to  see  Mr.  King  personally,  and  that  he 
gave  his  name  as  "Mr.  McSweeney,  private  secretary 
to  Mr.  Thomas  W.  Lawson."  I  announced  his  pres- 
ence to  Mr.  King,  who  admitted  him  to  his  private 
office,  where  a  conference  was  held  lasting  nearly  half 
an  hour,  after  which  Mr.  McSweeney  passed  out  through 
the  reception  room. 

Within  less  than  one  hour  thereafter  he  again  ap- 
peared and  requested  that  I  say  to  Mr.  King,  as  before, 
that  "  Mr.  McSweeney,  private  secretary  to  Mr.  Thomas 
W.  Lawson,  desires  to  see  him."  On  being  announced 
he  was  again  admitted  to  Mr.  King's  private  office  and 

200 


A  MILLION-DOLLAR  BRIBE 

after  something  like  half  an  hour  he  again  passed  out 
through  the  reception  room. 

Within  about  one  hour  thereafter  he  appeared  for  a 
third  time  and  again  requested  that  I  say  to  Mr.  King 
that  "  Mr.  McSweeney,  private  secretary  to  Mr.  Thomas 
W.  Lawson,  desires  to  see  him  personally,"  and  for  a 
third  time  he  was  admitted  into  Mr.  King's  private 
office,  where,  as  before,  he  remained  for  about  half  an 
hour  when  again  he  passed  out  through  the  reception 
room. 

MARIE  A.  ROSS. 

Subscribed  and  sworn  to  before  me  this  ninth  day  of 
March,  one  thousand  nine  hundred  and  seven. 

GUY  E.  CLIFFORD, 

Notary  Public. 
(Seal) 


201 


Chapter  XIX 
HEWING  STRAIGHT  TO  THE  LINE 

THE  opportunity  to  lay  hands  upon  a 
million  dollars  by  the  mere  operation  of 
treacherously  conniving  at  Lawson's 
plans  for  plunder  was  behind  me;  before  me 
lay  stretched,  as  straight  and  clear  as  it  had 
ever  lain,  the  path  of  duty. 

Since  that  momentous  visit  of  McSweeney 
with  his  guarded  offer  of  a  fortune  for 
immunity,  I  have  often  wondered  by  just  what 
mental  process  Lawson  came  to  make  it.  It 
seems  plain  to  me  in  the  light  of  the  events  that 
followed. 

Lawson  was  about  to  inaugurate  another 
campaign  in  Trinity — his  favorite  stock  by 
means  of  which  he  has  filched  so  many  hard- 
earned  dollars.  Trinity  never  would  stand 
the  light  of  day.  He  could  not  hope  to  be 
fully  successful  in  his  scheme  unless  my 
silence  could  be  bought.  After  Trinity  he 
was  planning  his  Nevada-Utah  boom.  Prob- 
ably he  had  already  bought  secretly  the 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  shares  at  from  two 

202 


HEWING    STRAIGHT   TO    THE    LINE 

to  four  dollars  a  share  which  in  February  and 
March  he  was  to  unload  upon  the  public  at 
from  five  to  ten  and  then — "going  short"  of 
the  stock  and  smashing  the  boom  with  a 
heartless,  cold-blooded  advertisement — was  to 
purchase  to  "cover  his  shorts"  all  the  way 
down  to  three  dollars  again. 

He  had  been  singularly  unsuccessful  in  his 
attempts  to  stop  my  just  criticism.  Three 
times,  now,  he  had  thrust  at  me — and  failed. 
He  had  laid  the  plot  that  made  Franklin  J. 
Moses  first  a  traitor  and  then  a  suicide — and 
it  had  failed.  He  had  planned  and  put  into 
execution  the  Coakley,  Coakley  &  Sherman 
attack  upon  the  securities  sold  through  my 
office — and  it  had  failed.  He  had  cautiously 
and  circuitously  arranged  for  the  complaints 
against  King-Crowther  made  with  the  Post 
Office  Department — and  that  scheme,  also, 
had  failed. 

Perhaps  there  was  something  of  superstition 
in  his  new  attitude — a  feeling  that  after  three 
such  attempts  it  was  useless  to  fly  in  the  face 
of  Fate.  Perhaps — and  I  regard  this  as  the 
more  likely  supposition — he  had  for  the  first 
time  come  to  realize  my  real  strength.  It  had 
at    last   filtered   through    his    brain    that   my 

203 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

influence  had  been  growing — that  I  was  a 
strong  man  with  the  investing  public — that 
my  conduct  and  the  business  methods  I  had 
employed  were  too  straight  to  be  injured  by 
his  attacks. 

I  suppose  that  when  a  man  is  utterly 
unscrupulous  himself,  and  possesses  neither 
mercy,  pity  nor  conscience,  it  is  impossible 
for  him  to  realize  that  all  other  men  are  not  of 
the  same  moral  calibre  as  he.  I  suppose  he 
thinks  those  who  differ  from  his  ways  of  think- 
ing are  hypocrites — that,  down  in  their  inmost 
hearts,  they,  too,  are  without  mercy,  pity,  or 
conscience.  If  Money  is  his  god,  and  Money 
alone,  he  thinks  Money  must  be  the  real  god 
of  every  other  man. 

So  it  may  have  been  with  Lawson  at  that 
time.  He  may  have  fancied  that  I,  in  my 
inner  soul,  was  as  conscienceless  as  he,  as 
unscrupulous,  as  willing  to  sell  my  soul  for 
gold.  He  may  have  reasoned  it  out  that  my 
attacks  upon  him  had  been  a  sort  of  black- 
mail— that  I  was  only  waiting  to  get  my  share 
— that  I  would,  for  a  division  of  the  spoils,  be 
his  jackal  in  just  the  same  manner  that  he  has 
so  often  served  as  the  jackal  for  the  really  big 
men    in    finance.     He    may    have    thought   I 

204 


HEWING    STRAIGHT   TO    THE    LINE 

would  not  be  averse  to  secretly  joining  hands 
with  him — and  he  had  learned,  by  experience, 
that  I  was  strong  enough  to  be  of  material 
assistance  if  I  would  become  a  silent  partner. 

Well,  he  had  found  out.  He  had  learned 
that  threats  and  attacks  would  not  turn  me 
aside,  and  now  had  been  added  the  knowledge 
that  I  was  not  to  be  bought. 

I  had  not  much  time  to  think  this  out 
immediately,  for  I  was  extremely  busy  with 
the  starting  of  my  new  newspaper,  the  first 
issue  of  which  appeared  on  New  Year's  Day, 
1907.  For  this  paper  I  assembled  what  I  am 
firmly  convinced  was  not  only  the  best  staff 
ever  employed  by  a  Boston  daily  newspaper, 
but  one  of  the  best  ever  assembled  in  the  pro- 
duction of  any  kind  of  a  newspaper  whatso- 
ever. 

To  the  able  newspaper  men  whom  I  had 
engaged  for  all  the  departments  I  gave  but 
one  general  order.  "Tell  the  truth,"  I  said, 
"about  every  movement  in  finance.  Tell 
it  unflinchingly.  Tell  it  fearlessly.  'Hew 
to  the  line;  let  the  chips  fall  where  they  may.' 
How  they  obeyed,  and  the  epoch-making 
financial  newspaper  which  I  published,  are 
matters  of  history. 

205 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

It  was  apparent  from  the  first  that  there  was 
little  hope  that  such  a  newspaper  would  be 
financially  successful.  The  expenses  of  pub- 
lication, with  such  a  staff  as  I  had,  were 
enormous.  The  field  of  circulation  was  cir- 
cumscribed. The  returns  from  advertising 
were  and  of  necessity  must  continue  small,  for 
this  good  and  sufficient  reason:  The  con- 
servative  and  eminent  financial  houses,  whose 
whited  sepulchres  of  pretense  I  exposed  with- 
out fear  or  favor,  would  not  advertise;  the 
unsavory  and  public-milking  swindlers — and 
I  think  about  every  get-rich-quick  concern 
in  the  land  tried  to  advertise  in  the  Boston 
Daily  Tribune — could  not.  I  had  made  an 
iron-clad  rule,  from  the  beginning,  that  no 
advertisement  of  a  questionable  stock  would 
be  accepted. 

This  probability  of  financial  failure,  did  not, 
at  that  moment,  worry  me.  As  I  had  never 
expected  the  Boston  Daily  Tribune  to  be  a 
money-maker,  I  was  not  doomed  to  dis- 
appointment. I  did  believe,  however,  that 
such  a  newspaper  would  nearly  pay  expenses 
— that  the  ledger  ought  not  to  show  a  deficit  of 
more  than  fifty  thousand  dollars  a  year — and 
I  was  content  with  this.     How  I  finally  sank 

206 


HEWING  STRAIGHT  TO  THE  LINE 

nearly  three  hundred  thousand  dollars  in  the 
Boston  Daily  Tribune  just  before  the  panic 
and  the  culmination  of  the  plot  that  finally 
cost  me  my  last  penny  will  be  told  in  its 
proper  place. 

The  Boston  Daily  Tribune,  from  its  first 
number,  hewed  to  the  line.  Was  a  particu- 
larly evil  flotation  premeditated  on  stock 
exchange  or  curb — it  denounced  it.  Was  a 
stock  company  being  organized  whose  pro- 
portion of  water  was  greater  than  that  of  the 
earth's  surface — it  described  it.  Did  eminent 
and  "respectable"  financiers  plan  a  scheme 
to  fleece  investors  and  line  their  own  pockets, 
and  was  there  a  "  nigger  in  the  woodpile"  that 
the  conservative  journals  could  not  or  would 
not  see — the  Boston  Daily  Tribune  pointed 
it  out.  In  its  day's  routine  report  of  the  stock 
exchange  or  curb  it  did  not  content  itself  with 
saying  that  so  many  thousand  shares  of  So-and- 
So  stock  were  "sold" — but  pointed  out  how 
many  were  really  sold  and  how  many  were 
"washed." 

From  its  first  day  of  publication  the  Boston 
Daily  Tribune  was  absolutely  fair  and  un- 
biased toward  Thomas  W.  Lawson.  It  was 
fairer  than  many  of  the  other  Boston  daily 

207 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

papers,  whose  owners  had  not  the  grounds 
I  had  to  pick  him  out  as  a  target.  On  no 
occasion  did  it  go  out  of  its  way  to  injure  him. 
When  he  became  the  centre  of  financial  news, 
it  printed  the  truth  about  him — as  it  did  about 
every  other  financial  matter.  I  recall  that  on 
one  occasion,  when  an  especially  uncalled-for 
and  unfair  attack  was  made  on  Lawson,  the 
Boston  Daily  Tribune  editorially  deplored  it. 
It  was  my  desire — and  my  staff  endeavored 
successfully  to  carry  out  that  desire — that 
Lawson  should  be  treated  with  especial  fair- 
ness. I  had  no  debts  to  pay  with  my  new 
paper,  and  no  enemies  to  punish. 

But  hardly  a  week  had  passed  before  it 
became  necessary  for  the  Boston  Daily  Tri- 
bune, unless  it  should  be  absolutely  untrue  to 
its  purpose  and  mission,  to  tell  a  story  about 
Lawson  which  must,  if  the  truth  were  adhered 
to,  be  coldly  critical.  For  Lawson  began  his 
Trinity  campaign,  and  carried  it  out  with  a 
heartlessness  and  recklessness  which,  were  it 
not  for  the  Nevada-Utah  campaign  that 
followed  within  a  month  or  two,  would  be  set 
down  as  the  most  pitiless  of  all  his  booms. 

The  stock  of  the  Trinity  Copper  Company — 
which    Lawson   is   said   to   have   bought   for 

208 


HEWING   STRAIGHT    TO    THE    LINE 

$20,000  and  manipulated  to  the  fictitious  value 
of  $8,800,000 — was  selling  at  its  normal  figure, 
which  is  somewhere  around  ten  dollars  a  share. 
At  this  price  there  was  no  demand  for  it  except 
from  the  "traders,"  who  buy  or  sell  merely  as 
a  gamble,  and  have  no  interest  in  the  actual 
value  of  the  stock  in  which  they  trade. 

The  investing  public  generally  knows 
Trinity — that  it  is  merely  a  speculative  propo- 
sition without  real  value — that  its  possessions 
are  a  mine  which  has  never  been  demon- 
strated to  contain  any  mineral,  and  three 
salaried  officials,  two  of  them  being  watchmen. 
Trinity  is  never  active  except  when  Lawson 
starts  a  campaign  in  it.  Then  it  usually  be- 
comes the  most  lively  gamble  on  the  exchange. 
Speculators,  expecting  that  Lawson  is  about 
to  put  the  price  up  and  then  let  it  fall  again, 
in  his  usual  manner,  buy  large  quantities  of 
the  stock  and  trust  to  selling  before  the  usual 
slump — sometimes  winning  and  sometimes 
losing.  With  their  losses  nobody  is  concerned 
— they  are  gamblers  and  know  what  chance 
they  are  taking.  It  is  upon  the  poor  investors, 
hypnotized  by  Lawson 's  fairy-tale  advertise- 
ments into  believing  that  there  is  some  genuine 
worth  to  the  stock,  that  the  blow  falls.     A 

209 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

Trinity  campaign  usually  impoverishes  hun- 
dreds and  thousands  of  these. 

And  that  particular  Trinity  campaign  which 
began  early  in  January  was  the  most  cruel  of 
all. 

The  details  of  the  boom  and  its  collapse 
were  not  different  from  the  details  of  all  the 
Lawson  movements.  Lawson  advised  in- 
vestors to  buy  the  stock,  declaring  that  it  was 
going  to  $60,  $75,  $100  a  share.  The  lambs 
flocked  to  the  shearing.  The  suckers  swam 
into  the  net.  The  stock  went  above  $40, 
Lawson  selling  at  prices  up  to  that  figure  the 
stock  he  had  bought  on  the  last  slump  at  not 
far  from  $10. 

Then  he  got  out  from  under.  In  five 
minutes  the  quotations  went  crashing  down  to 
$26.  Men  and  women,  old  and  young, 
screamed  and  struggled  in  the  brokerage 
offices  trying  to  sell  their  holdings  before  they 
wrere  ruined — and  could  not.  There  was  a 
panic  about  the  Trinity  pole  on  the  Boston 
Stock  Exchange.  There  were  pathetic  scenes 
on  State  Street.  Workingmen  who  had  saved 
a  few  hundreds  saw  them  wiped  out  in  five 
minutes.  Aged  men  and  women  who  had 
listened  to  Lawson's   siren   voice   and   taken 

210 


HEWING   STRAIGHT   TO   THE    LINE 

their  accumulations  of  years  out  of  the  savings 
banks  to  follow  his  will-o'-the-wisp  found 
themselves  paupers.  School  teachers,  who 
seemed  to  have  been  especially  selected  for 
this  particular  slaughter,  found  themselves 
suddenly  penniless,  and  were  dazed  by  the 
blow. 

It  was  cruel.  It  was  pitiless.  It  was — 
Lawsonian. 

From  the  Boston  Daily  Tribune  office  came 
a  message.  "Lawson  is  'trimming'  the 
Trinity  speculators.     What  shall  we  do?" 

My  reply  was  short.  "Print  the  exact 
truth,  without  exaggeration  either  in  favor  of 
Lawson  or  against  him." 

The  story  was  printed,  neither  stronger  than 
the  facts  demanded,  nor  weaker.  I  have  been 
told  that  until  that  narrative  appeared,  Law- 
son  seemed  to  be  of  the  opinion  that  he  had 
nothing  to  fear  from  me;  that  when  it  did 
appear,  he  raged  bitterly.  From  this  it  would 
seem  that  he  had  hoped,  even  though  I  had 
declined  the  promise  of  a  million,  that  I  would 
change  my  mind.  It  may  be  that  he  thought 
my  "no"   meant  "yes." 

Immediately  following  the  notorious  Trinity 
slump  of  January  7,  Lawson  began  to  bolster 

211 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

the  stock  for  another  killing.  The  stock,  at 
the  time  of  the  crash,  had  not  fallen  below 
$20.  He  argued,  in  his  public  advertisements, 
that  he  had  held  the  market  there  and  that  he 
was  about  to  put  it  up  as  he  had  promised. 
Strange  as  it  may  seem — and  it  is  a  tribute  to 
his  eloquence  as  well  as  to  the  lack  of  wisdom 
of  the  army  of  lambs  who  were  reading  his 
words — his  writings  bore  some  fruit  from  a 
new  crop  of  dupes.  The  old  could  not  have 
participated,  except  with  rare  exceptions,  for 
they  had  been  left  penniless. 

I  have  never  been  able  to  understand  just 
why  Lawson  piled  his  second  Trinity  campaign 
of  that  year  directly  on  top  of  his  first,  unless 
there  was  some  grain  of  truth  in  the  rumor  that 
persistently  floated  about  State  Street  in  those 
days,  and  had  its  starting  point  in  the  houses 
with  which  Lawson  principally  dealt,  that  he 
had  been  himself  gambling  on  the  wrong  side  of 
the  stock  market  and  was  in  a  bad  way 
financially.  Usually  Lawson  separates  his 
campaigns  by  a  sufficient  margin  of  time  for 
people  to  forget,  in  some  degree,  how  the  last 
dose  tasted.  This  time  he  had  not  stopped 
banking  the  money  made  in  the  first  boom 
before  he  was  inaugurating  the  second. 

212 


HEWING  STRAIGHT  TO  THE  LINE 

The  newspapers,  in  those  days,  were  filled 
with  the  advertisements  signed  by  Lawson. 
Each  of  them  closed  with  the  same  words:  "  I 
repeat;  I  reiterate;  I  advise  unqualifiedly  the 
purchase  of  Trinity  at  any  figure  under  65." 

Many  of  the  most  influential  journals  and 
magazines  in  the  land,  which  ordinarily  had 
pursued  toward  Lawson  an  attitude  of  silent 
contempt,  were  spurred  by  his  audacity  in  thus 
following  a  shameful  collapse  with  another 
boom,  into  noticing  him.  One  of  the  refer- 
ences to  him  I  quote.  It  is  from  the  editorial 
column  of  Collier  s  Weekly  for  February  9,  and 
not  only  shows  what  was  the  intelligent  opinion 
of  Lawson  and  his  scheme  to  defraud  at  that 
time,  but  proves  the  falsity  of  any  charge  that 
might  be  made  that  my  newspaper,  in  telling 
the  truth  about  the  Trinity  bubble,  was  "going 
out  of  its  way"  to  attack  Lawson.  The 
editorial  from  Collier's  reads  as  follows: 

"I  repeat,"  squeals  Lawson,  "I  reiterate,"  "I 
advise  unqualifiedly,"  "as  president  of  Trinity  and  as 
an  individual" — I,  the  man  who  exposed  life  insurance, 
the  confounder  and  confuser  of  the  System,  I,  Lawson — 
"I  advise  unqualifiedly  the  purchase  of  Trinity  at  any 
figure  under  65."  And  hundreds  of  persons  have 
drawn  their  accumulation  from  the  savings  bank  and 
bought.     Lawson   is   the   prince   of   advertising.     The 

213 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

widely  exploited  philanthropy  of  "frenzied  finance" 
is  reaping  its  harvest. 

Certain  laws  of  nature  say  that  where  there  is  a  buyer 
there  must  also  be  a  seller.  These  savings  banks 
lambs  know  not  who  is  the  man  they  bought  from. 
Their  purchase  was  made  through  a  broker  on  an  im- 
personal exchange  invented  to  conceal  such  details. 
They  do  not  know,  and  never  think  to  inquire,  who  is 
the  sceptic  so  disdainful  of  Lawson's  frenzied  advice  as 
to  sell  his  Trinity  before  it  reaches  65,  before,  indeed,  it 
reaches  40.  Could  the  seller  be  Tom  himself  ?  Perish 
the  thought!  Yet  the  fact  that  Lawson  is  the  president 
and  chief  stockholder  of  Trinity  sticks  unpleasingly  in 
the  most  lofty  and  unsuspecting  mind. 

Also,  Trinity  is  a  copper  mine  that  does  not  produce 
copper;  and  its  entire  staff  of  employees  is  a  ten-thousand- 
dollar-a-year  superintendent  and  two  three-dollar-a-day 
watchmen,  one  by  day  and  one  by  night,  faithful  and 
vigilant  in  the  duty  of  keeping  people  out  of  the  mine, 
the  while  Tom  waves  them  grandly  in — to  the  stock. 

Stock  market  intricacies  are  not  for  minds  so  guileless 
as  ours;  but  even  our  brain  lingers  over  Lawson's 
further  proclamation:  "Buy  Amalgamated.  Buy  it 
quick.  It's  on  its  way  to  150.  Buy  it.  Buy  it  quick. " 
How  long  ago  is  it  since  these  flaming  advertisements 
read:  "Sell  your  stock  now  before  it  is  too  late.  Bear 
in  mind,  when  Amalgamated  sells  at  33,  I  have  warned 
you."  Which  time  were  you  telling  the  truth,  Tom? 
and  whom  are  you  working  for  now  ?  There  would  be 
more  humor  in  this  narrative  if  there  were  less  tragedy. 

Those  advertisements  would  not  have  been  printed 

214 


HEWING   STRAIGHT   TO   THE    LINE 

if  they  were  not  profitable ;  and  they  would  not  be  profit- 
able unless  there  were  many  of  simple  faith  who  believed 
"frenzied  finance,"  utterly,  and  look  upon  the  author  as 
a  deliverer. 

Lawson  has  generous  emotions  ?  Does  he  ever 
recall  this  letter  that  came  to  him  in  the  mails  one  morn- 
ing?— "You  will  observe  by  the  postmark  .  .  .  my 
present  .  .  .  residence.  You  probably  knew  that  be- 
fore, as  the  press  has  had  much  to  say  about  me  of 
late.  I  trust  you  .  .  .  are  satisfied  .  .  .  when  you 
observe  the  hell  you  have  caused  others.  .  .  When  I 
first  wrote  you  about  the  Amalgamated  stock,  I  was  an 
honest,  prosperous  man.  .  .  I  had  never  committed  a 
crime.  .  .  Relying  upon  what  you  said  publicly  .  .  . 
I  committed  acts  which  I  now  know  to  my  everlasting 
sorrow  I  should  not  have  committed.  .  .  The  rest  is 
the  old  story.  My  wife  and  children  are  disgraced  and 
oppressed  with  poverty,  and  I  am  serving  a  five-years 
sentence  buoyed  up  only  with  the  hope  that  I  may  live 
to  face  you  .  .  .That  you  may  see  the  wreck  you 
have  wrought." 

It  is  a  desperate  game  you  play,  old  friend,  with 
human  hearts  and  souls  as  counters,  with  credulity  and 
misery  as  twin  necessities  in  the  show.  You  big  gam- 
blers have  fun  and  make  money,  but,  oh,  gentlemen,  the 
wretchedness  you  cause! 

The  above  is  not  from  my  pen,  remember, 
but  an  editorial  in  Collier  s,  of  which  Mr.  Nor- 
man Hapgood,  able  publicist  and  reputed  per- 
sonally friendly  to  Lawson,  the  Man,  is  editor. 

215 


Chapter  XX 
UNDER  FALSE  COLORS 

AND  NOW,  although  I  did  not  realize 
it  at  the  time,  and  I  suppose  Lawson 
did  not  realize  it,  either,  began  to  be 
forged  the  chain  that  eventually  defeated  Law- 
son,  discredited  him,  and  made  him  send  to 
me,  suing  for  peace. 

It  was  a  new  thing  for  the  methods  of 
frenzied  finance — either  that  brand  which 
Lawson,  after  having  served,  went  out  of  his 
path  to  vilify,  or  the  other  and  more  deadly 
variety  of  which  he  himself  was  the  first 
apostle — to  attract  critical  attention  in  maga- 
zines and  newspapers.  For  years  I  had  stood 
practically  alone  in  my  opposition  to  stock 
market  gambling  and  gamblers,  and  it  had 
been  a  popular  reply  to  my  arguments  to  call 
me  a  "sensationalist." 

At  last,  however,  others  were  rising  to  assist 
in  the  conflict.  I  had  unsought  aid  on  every 
side.  Lawson,  for  once  in  his  life,  had  gone 
too  far. 

The   Boston   Daily    Tribune    continued    to 

216 


UNDER  FALSE  COLORS 

"hew  to  the  line."  The  chips  of  that  hewing 
fell  in  a  way  to  put  an  effectual  clog  under  the 
wheels  of  that  second  Trinity  campaign. 

In  full-page,  half-page  and  quarter-page 
advertisements  Lawson  called  upon  the  inves- 
tors of  the  country  to  come  and  share  in  the 
glorious  profits  that  were  to  accrue  from  the 
buying  of  Trinity.  He  urged,  begged,  pleaded 
and  promised.  They  did  not  come  as  in  the 
good  old  days.  The  memory  of  the  recent 
massacre  was  too  fresh  in  their  minds. 

Then,  in  the  struggle  and  turmoil,  were  born 
a  number  of  weird  characters,  the  like  of  whom 
have  never  before  nor  since  been  seen  in  the 
world  of  high  or  low  finance.  Their  names 
were  "William  W.  White,"  "Mortimer  Ken- 
sington Queen,"  and  "A.  B.  Coe,  Esq."  The 
mention  of  any  of  those  names  will  to  this  day 
bring  a  grin  to  the  face  of  any  anti-Lawson 
operator  on  State  Street.  To  Lawson's  face 
it  will  bring  a  frown,  and  to  his  soul  bitter 
remembrance,  for  had  he  not,  in  desperation, 
conceived  the  foolhardy  plan  of  using  these 
aliases  in  his  advertising,  his  adventurous 
career  might  not  have  been  checked  until  many 
months  after  it  was. 

Lawson  has  made  some  big  mistakes  in  his 

217 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

life,  but  none  will  compare  with  the  invention 
of  these  interesting  characters  of  fiction. 

Before  reading  further,  I  would  suggest  that 
you  turn  back  two  chapters  and  read  the  letter 
written  to  me  by  Lawson's  assistant  secretary 
— one  Burton — especially  this  sentence: 

"Second — All  of  Mr.  Lawson's  advertise- 
ments appear  over  his  signature.'1 

After  you  have  completed  this  chapter  go 
back  and  read  that  phrase — undoubtedly  dic- 
tated to  Burton  by  Lawson — again.  It  will 
serve  to  add  a  touch  of  humor  to  a  book  con- 
taining but  little  that  is  not  serious  and  grim. 

It  was  at  the  beginning  of  the  second  Trinity 
campaign  of  1907  that  the  first  of  the  fictitious 
characters  made  his  appearance  in  the  news- 
papers of  Boston  through  the  medium  of  the 
following  advertisement : 

THOMAS  W.  LAWSON 

Was  furnished  with  proof  on  Friday  morning  that 
Copper  Range  is  to  go  into  the  new  combination  at  $125 
per  share  and  that  the  $125  stock  will  probably  go  to 
$175.  He  bought  30,000  shares  on  Friday  and  Satur- 
day through  Hayden,  Stone  &  Company,  Hornblowcr 
&  Weeks  and  Towle  &  Fitzgerald. 

Boston.  WILLIAM  W.  WHITE. 

218 


UNDER  FALSE  COLORS 

This  appeared  on  January  14,  on  the  same 
page  as  Lawson's  advertisement  but  not  in 
an  adjoining  column.  When  those  interested 
in  things  financial  read  it  they  united  in  one 
question : 

"Who  is  William  W.  White?" 

And  the  answer  usually  was : 

"  Some  new  broker,  I  suppose,  who  is  trying 
to  make  a  little  on  the  side  out  of  Lawson's 
campaign,  or  is  engaged  by  him  to  help  things 
along." 

The  following  day  Mr.  White  had  another 
advertisement.  It  was  conceived  with  re- 
markable cleverness,  for  it  is  to  be  noted  that 
it  devotes  sixty-six  words  to  what  appears  to  be 
general  information  and  but  nine  words  to  the 
Trinity  campaign,  but  every  line  of  it  might 
be  expected  to  have  a  tendency  to  cause  hesi- 
tating investors  and  speculators  to  rush  out 
and  buy  Trinity.  This  advertisement  reads 
as  follows,  the  italics  being  mine : 

THOMAS  W.  LAWSON 

Sold  30,000  Copper  Range  at  115  and  500  Tamarack 
at  500  to-day  at  private  sale.  J  liave  advance  knowl- 
edge of  some  of  his  movements.  I  do  not  pretend  to  have 
them  all.  Those  who'  co-operate  with  me  are  securing 
large  and  quick  profits.    I  told  you  in  yesterday's  adver- 

219 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

tisement  what  Mr.  Lawson  would  do  to  Copper  Range 
to-day.  You  saw  him  do  it.  He  is  now  about  to  lift 
Trinity  20  points. 

Boston.  WILLIAM  W.  WHITE. 

Remembering  that  every  one  of  these 
William  W.  White  advertisements  was  penned 
by  Lawson  himself,  the  reader  will  be  chilled 
by  the  cold  hypocrisy  of  the  whole  thing.  "  I 
have  advance  knowledge  of  some  of  his 
movements.  I  do  not  pretend  to  have  them 
all."  What  a  bait  for  guileless  fish  hastening 
toward  the  net ! 

Lawson  in  the  meantime  was  announcing 
that  he  intended  to  send  Trinity  to  some  figure 
approximating  50.  But  contrary  to  expecta- 
tions the  fish  did  not  bite  as  they  had  been 
expected  to,  and  that  day  Trinity  advanced 
but  five  points — all  on  "  washed"  sales,  which 
is  to  say,  fictitious  transactions.  On  January 
16  "White"  explained  this,  as  follows: 

THOMAS  W.  LAWSON 

Has  two  surprises  for  State  and  Wall  Streets.  Trinity, 
in  two  jumps,  probably,  will  strike  G9.  His  brokers  had 
the  "let  it  go  to  49"  orders  to-day.  General  weakness 
changed  the  orders  to  "  5  points  up."  Trinity  lawyers 
are  preparing  suits  against  eleven  stock  exchange 
houses,   which,   in  refusing   buy  orders,   slandered  the 

220 


UNDER  FALSE  COLORS 

corporation.  The  company  will  attach  for  large 
amounts,  which  will  compel  a  quick  hearing,  at  which 
Trinity  will  show  upon  what  the  movement  is  based. 

Boston.  WILLIAM  W.  WHITE. 

Within  a  few  days  I  have  read  in  a  statement 
issued  by  Thomas  W.  Lawson — for  during 
the  very  week  in  which  I  am  writing  these 
words  he  is  assembling  a  new  flock  of  lambs  for 
a  "National  Stock"  shearing — that  he  has 
never  yet  been  guilty  of  making  false  state- 
ments in  his  advertisements.  If  that  is  so, 
how  about  the  suits  against  the  eleven  stock 
exchange  houses  which  had  enough  self- 
respect  to  advise  their  clients  not  to  fatten 
the  Lawson  pocket-book  by  buying  the  worth- 
less Trinity?  There  is  the  statement,  direct 
from  Lawson's  pen.  He  confessed  full  re- 
sponsibility for  the  William  W.  White  adver- 
tisements— confessed  it  to  the  public  after  hav- 
ing privately  confessed  it  to  the  officers  of  the 
United  States  government. 

On  the  following  day — January  17 — 
appeared  another  advertisement,   as   follows: 

THOMAS  W.  LAWSON 

Telegraphed  a  prominent  Pennsylvanian  to-day,  "You 
say  Blank  (naming  one  of  the  best  known  houses  on 

221 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

State  Street)  says  Trinity  is  worthless.  I  herewith  agree 
to  purchase  from  you  the  3,000  shares  you  ordered  of 
them  at  $1,000  per  share  if  I  cannot  present  you  with 
proof  Trinity  is  worth  to-day  75,  and  I  further  agree  if 
I  do  not  present  you  with  proof  that  this  house  has 
caused  investors  a  loss  through  the  fraudulent  stocks  it 
has  floated  upon  them  of  a  large  portion  of  the  hundred 
millions  I  have  made  for  them  in  Coppers,  to  buy  your 
3,000  shares  at  $2,000  per  share.  Confidential  calumny 
is  the  weapon  of  the  scoundrel.  What  I  say  you  are  at 
liberty  to  wire  them."  The  prominent  Pennsylvanian 
will  arrive  in  Boston  to-morrow. 

Boston.  WILLIAM  W.  WHITE. 


Whether  the  prominent  Pennsylvanian  ever 
arrived  in  Boston  does  not  appear.  The  pur- 
pose of  the  advertisement  was  very  evidently 
to  show  the  investors  that  "William  W. 
White"  not  only  "had  advance  knowledge  of 
some  of  his  movements,"  but  that  he  was  so 
close  to  Lawson  as  even  to  gain  access  to  his 
private  telegrams. 

Now  Trinity  had  been  "washed"  up  to  30, 
or  thereabouts,  and  still  the  "suckers"  failed 
to  bite  in  any  numbers.  A  new  tack  was 
taken,  and  the  following  advertisement  ap- 
peared on  January  18: 


222 


UNDER  FALSE  COLORS 

THOMAS  W.  LAWSON 

Held  Trinity  at  30  to  33  until  all  small  investors  had 
secured  their  stock.  He  is  now  holding  it  at  37-39,  and 
he  will  lift  it  to  47-49  or  I  don't  know  his  hand. 

WILLIAM  W.  WHITE. 

Boston. 

As  Trinity  was  not  "lifted  to  47-49"  it  is  to 
be  presumed  that  Mr.  Lawson,  alias  White, 
did  not  know  the  hand  of  Mr.  Lawson,  without 
an  alias.  Or  else  the  explanation  is,  to  use  an 
old  saying,  "The  boy  lied." 

When  the  lift  for  which  the  public  was 
supposed  to  be  breathlessly  waiting  did  not 
come,  this  advertisement  appeared,  on  Jan- 
uary 19: 

THOMAS  W.  LAWSON 

Must  have  chuckled  to-day  at  the  sturdy  strength  of 
Trinity,  when  all  the  rest  of  the  Coppers  were  going  like 
water  through  a  broken  spout.  His  orders  to  his 
brokers  were  to  suspend  the  lift  until  Amalgamated 
straightened  out,  which  would  be  as  soon  as  a  certain 
independent  Copper  company's  controllers  had  been 
disciplined. 

WILLIAM  Wr.  WHITE. 
Boston. 

Then  came  this,  on  January  21 : 

223 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

THOMAS  W.  LAWSON 

Floated  Trinity  in  1901.  He  said  publicly:  "I  think  it 
is  good.  I  don't  know,  the  experts  say  it  is,  and  I  am 
willing  to  put  my  money  in  it,  but  it  is  only  a  speculation 
now."  He  owned  160,000  shares  of  Trinity  then.  He 
had  every  incentive  to  boom  it  but  did  not.  The  Boston 
News  Bureau  states  it  has  proved  that  Mr.  Lawson  was 
compelled  to  sell  all  but  a  small  amount  of  his  Trinity 
stock,  that  it  examined  the  books  at  the  American  Loan 
&  Trust  Company,  where  the  stock  is  transferred,  and 
found  Mr.  Lawson 's  stock  was  owned  by  the  pub- 
lic 2200  strong.  Yet  at  this  time,  with  practically  no 
money  incentive,  Mr.  Lawson  says :  "  I  know — 
unqualifiedly  as  an  individual,  and  as  President  of  the 
Company,  I  state  it  is  an  investment — it  is  worth  75;  it 
will  be  100  and  over." 
Boston.  WILLIAM  W.  WHITE. 

The  next  day,  on  January  22,  came  this: 

THOMAS  W.  LAWSON 

Before  starting  the  present  unprecedented  Trinity 
movement  not  only  knew  that  Trinity  was  at  last  ripe 
on  all  sides,  but  that  the  Copper  boom  was  coming.  He 
probably  was  one  of  the  very  few  who  knew  that 
Amalgamated  was  to  be  sent  flving  over  150  after  he  had 
gotten  fairly  on  record  with  his  Trinity  campaign,  but 
the  public  has  not  yet  had  the  real  good  things  on 
Trinity.  When  they  get  them,  enthusiasm  will  cut  out  a 
new  pace  or  Thomas  W.  Lawson 's  hand  is  not  known  to 

Boston.  WILLIAM  W.  WHITE. 

224 


UNDER  FALSE  COLORS 

Before  reading  the  next  instalment  of  the 
"William  W.  White"  literature,  with  its 
reference  to  the  letters  and  checks  that  were 
pouring  in  upon  him  by  every  mail,  the  reader 
should  pause  to  remember  that  "White"  was 
merely  an  alias,  that  such  mail  as  had  been 
addressed  to  him  was  at  that  moment  being 
held  up  by  the  Post  Office  Department,  and 
that  the  receipt  of  one  check,  by  a  real 
William  W.  White,  who  neither  knew  Lawson 
nor  wanted  to  know  him,  was  the  cause  of 
Lawson  being  warned  by  the  Post  Office 
Department  to  cease  using  false  pretenses.  It 
was  in  this  advertisement,  printed  January  25, 
that  Lawson  stumbled  the  most  in  this  un- 
fortunate campaign: 

THOMAS  W.  LAWSON 

Has  created  in  this  Trinity  movement  something  new  to 
the  stock  world.  One  of  the  tangible  evidences  of  it  is 
the  tremendous  quantity  of  letters  containing  buy 
orders  and  checks  pouring  in  to  me  in  every  mail.  My 
orders  to-day,  it  is  safe  to  say,  are  more  than  all  the  mail 
orders  of  all  the  stock  exchange  houses  for  any  stock  but 
Trinity.  I  do  not  seek  orders,  but,  on  the  contrary, 
return  checks  and  refer  all  buyers  to  the  well-known 
firm  of  Towle  &  Fitzgerald,  members  of  the  New  York 
and  Boston  Stock  Exchanges,  98  Milk  Street. 
Boston.  WILLIAM  W.  WHITE. 

225 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

In  his  next  advertisement,  appearing  Janu- 
ary 26,  "White"  showed  that  in  finance,  as  in 
charity,  it  is  possible  for  the  left  hand  not  to 
know  what  the  right  hand  does,  by  cleverly 
disagreeing  with  an  advertisement  which  had 
been  printed  by  Lawson  over  his  own  signa- 
ture.    He  said  (the  italics  are  mine) : 

THOMAS  W.  LAWSON 

Through  public  notice  to-day  says  he  would  have  it 
understood  that  he  favors  no  particular  stock  exchange 
house,  but  advises  all  buyers  of  Trinity  to  send  to  any 
one  of  the  full  list  of  stock  exchange  houses.  /  do  not 
agree  with  all  Mr.  Lawson's  broad,  turn-the-other-cheek 
methods.  Some  stock  exchange  houses,  when  asked  to 
buy  Trinity,  take  occasion  to  slip  in  the  knife  in  the 
interest  of  other  Coppers  they  are  promoting.  For  this 
reason  I  recommend  all  buyers  to  a  well-known,  active 
New  York  and  Boston  stock  exchange  house  which 
makes  a  specialty  of  Coppers,  Towle  &  Fitzgerald,  98 
Milk  Street,  Boston,  Telephone  6940. 

Boston.  WILLIAM  W.  WHITE. 

Three  days  elapsed,  during  which  Trinity 
slowly  rose,  the  bait  having  taken  to  some 
extent.  The  published  quotations  on  the 
stock  reached  40.     On  January  29  appeared 


the  following: 


226 


UNDER  FALSE  COLORS 

THOMAS  W.  LAWSON 

Has  frequently  said:  "A  stock  is  worth  what  it  will 
bring  in  a  legitimate,  recognized  market,  no  more,  no 
less;  that  the  legitimate  market  is  the  stock  exchange, 
and  in  some  cases  the  curb;  that  any  crooked  promoter 
can  put  any  price  on  his  wildcats ;  but  that  the  real  price 
of  a  stock  is  what  the  man  who  owns  it  can  sell  it  for. " 
If  a  man  owned  Trinity  to-day  he  could  have  secured 
the  top  price,  39  to  40,  for  one  share  or  ten  thousand 
shares,  and  he  could  have  done  so  in  the  midst  of 
general  market  demoralization.  As  a  matter  of  fact,  it 
sold  all  day  the  most  active  stock  on  the  list  at  from 
39-40  (and  closed  39^.)     What  a  lesson  to  fakirs. 

Boston.  WILLIAM  W.  WHITE. 

Then  came  a  sudden  slump.  Enough  of 
the  lambs  had  wandered  into  the  Trinity  pen 
to  make  a  shearing  profitable — and  Lawson 
stood  ready  with  the  shears.  "  William  W. 
White"  explained  it  on  January  30,  as  follows: 

THOMAS  W.  LAWSON 

As  Trinity  halts  in  a  bad  market  spot  to  get  its  breath, 
points  to  Amalgamated  and  other  good  things  in  Coppers 
and  Wall  Street  yells :  "  He  has  gone  back  on  the  people. 
He's  back  with  the  system."  Poor  Wall  Street!  It 
knows  as  little  of  its  own  game  as  he  knows  much  of  its 
game  and  his  own.  Once  let  the  market  get  untangled, 
and  we  will  see  how  quickly  he  will  forget  these  market 
moles  and  get  busy  in  a  way  that  will  make  the  public 

227 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

forget  he  ever  heard  the  hounds.  In  the  meantime  he 
keeps  the  public  occupied  and  Trinity  the  only  strong 
stock  on  the  list.  If  this  is  not  good  judgment  I  miss 
my  guess. 

Boston.  WILLIAM  W.  WHITE. 

Four  days  elapsed — four  long,  unhappy 
days  for  those  investors  who  held  Trinity — for 
the  stock  did  not  advance  in  price  as  they  had 
been  promised.  Indeed,  for  all  that  appeared 
in  the  public  prints,  Lawson  seemed  to  have 
forgotten  it.     Then  came  this: 

THOMAS  W.  LAWSON 

Laughed  to-day  when  he  was  asked  if  he  had  let  up  on 
the  copper  boom.  He  said :  "  In  all  the  really  big  horse 
races  the  winner  is  taken  to  the  stable  and  cooled  out 
and  rubbed  down  for  the  next  heat.  It  usually  takes 
three  heats  to  win.  Trinity  has  raced  its  first  one,  11  to 
40.  Its  second  will  be  from  40  to  75.  Then  will  come 
the  finish,  75  to  — , "  and  he  pointed  to  the  great  blue. 

Boston.  WILLIAM  W.  WHITE. 


228 


Chapter  XXI 
A  SENSELESS  ATTACK 

A  WEEK  or  so  after  the  appearance  of 
the  first  "William  W.  White"  ad- 
vertisement "the  Street"  was  busy 
talking  about  the  strange  collection  of 
announcements.  It  was  the  consensus  of 
opinion  that  Lawson  was  responsible  for  the 
advertisements,  but  what  is  everybody's  busi- 
ness is  nobody's  business,  and  nothing  was 
done  to  definitely  determine  this  until  the 
Boston  Daily  Tribune  started  a  careful  and 
exhaustive  investigation. 

This  inquiry  developed  the  fact  that  there 
was  but  one  William  W.  White  in  the  city  of 
Boston,  and  that  he  had  nothing  to  do  with  the 
stock  market  and  knew  nothing  about  the  use 
of  his  name.  There  were  several  William 
Whites,  with  various  middle  initials.  None 
of  these  was  responsible.  Further  investigation 
traced  the  advertisements  to  an  advertising 
agency  which  did  work  for  Lawson. 

The  Boston  Daily  Tribune  gave  to  the  public 
the  results  of  its  investigation. 

229 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

It  is  easy  to  believe  that  Lawson  was  des- 
perate. His  second  Trinity  campaign  had 
been  a  comparative  failure.  His  authorship 
of  the  deceptive  William  W.  White  advertise- 
ments had  been  traced  home  to  him.  He  saw 
his  prestige  gone  and  his  dollars  shrinking. 
He  determined  to  retaliate  by  again  attacking 
the  stock  of  the  King- C row ther  Corpora- 
tion, which  was  selling  readily  through  my 
office  at  $70  a  share.  I  suppose  he  thought  if 
he  could  prevent  me  from  selling  that  stock  I 
would  be  more  ready  to  make  terms  with  him. 

To  undertake  this  plan  of  retaliation  he 
resorted  to  a  new  alias.  On  Monday  morn- 
ing, January  28,  1907,  there  appeared  in  one 
or  two  newspapers  in  Boston  (it  was  offered 
to  the  others,  but  refused,  as  they  did  not  care 
to  accept  an  advertisement  so  plainly  intended 
to  deceive)  the  following,  in  large  type: 

KING-CROWTHER 

$14,000  REWARD 

I  have  for  sale  14,000  shares  of  King-Crowther  at  30. 
The  highest  offer  I  have  received  is  on*  dollar  and  a 
quarter.  I  will  pay  to  any  one  who  will  buy  the  same 
at  30  the  sum  of  $1  per  share,  or  $14,000.  Corre- 
spondence solicited  with  any  one  who  can  use  all  or  any 
part  of  the  above  amount  even  at  a  lower  price  than  30, 

230 


A  SENSELESS  ATTACK 

as  my  desire  is  to  sell  at  some  price  above  the  only  offer 
I  have  so  far,  one  dollar  and  a  quarter. 

MORTIMER  KENSINGTON  QUEEN. 

Address  letters  care  of  my  solicitor,  A.  B.  COE, 
Esquire. 

This  advertisement  fell  absolutely  flat.  Had 
Lawson  announced  that  $50,  or  $40,  was  the 
best  offer  per  share  he  was  able  to  secure,  it 
might  have  had  an  effect  upon  prospective 
investors  in  the  stock  and  frightened  them  into 
lack  of  confidence  in  me  and  my  office.  But 
the  one  dollar  and  a  quarter  was  so  palpably 
absurd  that  it  overreached  its  purpose  and,  so 
far  as  I  have  ever  been  able  to  learn,  did  not 
make  a  penny's  difference  in  the  King- 
Crowther  subscriptions. 

A  considerable  number  of  stockholders, 
being  desirous  of  adding  to  their  holdings  if 
they  could  do  so  at  thirty  or  any  price  like  that, 
or  else  feeling  a  desire  to  "call  the  bluff," 
addressed  letters  to  "Mortimer  Kensington 
Queen,  care  of  A.  B.  Coe,  Esquire,  Boston," 
offering  various  sums  from  $30  to  $65  for  the 
stock. 

These  letters  remained  for  several  days  in 
the  general  delivery  department  of  the  Boston 

231 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

post  office  and  were  then  (so  Boston  Daily 
Tribune  reporters  learned  at  the  post  office) 
delivered  to  Lawson,  who  declined  to  accept 
them,  saying  he  had  no  knowledge  of  either 
the  mysterious  "Queen"  or  the  equally  mys- 
terious "  Coe. "  Thereupon  the  missives  went, 
in  the  regular  course  of  events,  to  the  Dead 
Letter  Office  at  Washington,  where  they  were 
opened  and  returned  to  the  senders. 

It  did  not  require  the  services  of  Pinkerton 
detectives  to  learn  that  the  advertisement  was 
offered  to  all  the  Boston  morning  papers 
except  the  Boston  Daily  Tribune  by  Lawson's 
regular  advertising  agent. 

Thus  began  and  ended  the  most  absurd  and 
senseless  of  all  the  attacks  made  upon  me  by 
Lawson.  Its  effect  was  absolutely  nil.  It  is 
only  worthy  of  mention  in  these  pages  as  an 
evidence  of  the  desperate  straits  to  which 
Lawson  had  come,  and  an  illustration  of  the 
methods  he  was  driven  to  taking  in  his 
endeavor  to  extricate  himself. 


232 


Chapter  XXII 
DIED— WILLIAM  W.  WHITE 

IT  IS  the  most  dangerous  factor  in  the 
transactions  of  such  market  manip- 
ulators as  Lawson  that  they  seldom 
sell  any  securities  except  through  the  stock 
exchange  and  the  curb.  Therefore,  however 
brazenly  they  may  swindle  the  public,  it  is 
almost  impossible  for  the  law  to  get  its 
clutches  upon  them. 

"Buy  Trinity;  buy  Nevada-Utah;  buy  Bay 
State  Gas;  they  are  going  up!"  advertises 
Lawson.  "I  reiterate,  they  are  going  up. 
You  may  take  my  word  for  it;  I  assure  you 
they  are  going  up.  I  say  it  on  my  own 
responsibility.     They  are  going  up." 

The  foolish,  trusting  investor  buys.  He 
buys  to  the  extent  of  hundreds  or  thousands  of 
shares.     The  stock  goes  down.     He  is  ruined. 

"I  have  been  deceived!"  he  cries.  "You 
promised  me  this  stock  was  going  up.  I  put 
my  all  into  it.  It  has  gone  down.  I  am 
swindled!" 

"I  am  sorry,"  says  Lawson.     "I  made  a 

233 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

mistake.  And  you  are  not  half  as  great  a  loser 
as  I,  because  I  myself  bought,  the  same  as  you. 
You  have  lost  hundreds.     I  have  lost  millions." 

Is  that  true  ?  Certainly  not.  The  investor 
bought  of  Lawson,  when  the  stock  was  at  its 
top  quotation.  When  the  falling  market  made 
him  sell,  he  sold  to  Lawson.  But  he  both 
bought  and  sold  in  the  market,  where  he  can- 
not see  of  whom  he  buys  or  to  whom  he  sells. 
He  cannot  prove  what  all  men  in  close  touch 
with  finance  know  to  be  true.  If  Lawson 
frankly  told  the  investors,  when  he  promised 
that  one  of  his  wild-cat  stocks  was  going  up, 
that  he  himself  was  offering  it  for  sale,  the 
investor,  after  the  crash,  could  prosecute  him 
for  obtaining  money  under  false  pretenses. 
But  he  says:  "I'm  sorry  I  was  mistaken.  I, 
too,  was  buying." 

About  the  only  way  to  stop  the  nefarious 
career  of  such  a  man  is  through  the  Post  Office 
Department,  which  attempts  to  see  to  it  that 
swindles  are  not  perpetrated  by  means  of  the 
mails.  And,  in  advertising  under  aliases  and 
allowing  mail  containing  money  to  be  sent  to 
those  aliases,  Lawson  came  under  the  defini- 
tion of  fraudulent  practices,  as  they  are  con- 
sidered by  the  Post  Office  Department.       His 

234 


DIED— WILLIAM  W.  WHITE 

"William  W.  White"  and  "Mortimer  Ken- 
sington Queen"  advertisements  were  the 
greatest  mistakes  he  ever  made,  for  they  made 
him  amenable  to  the  law. 

At  first,  when  the  " William  W.  White" 
advertisements  appeared,  the  government 
officials  took  no  notice.  But  soon  that  hap- 
pened which  forced  them  to  look  into  the 
matter,  speedily  and  authoritatively. 

There  is  a  William  W.  White  in  Boston,  a 
reputable  business  man  of  No.  70  Pearl  Street. 
About  the  first  of  February  he  received  a  letter 
from  a  woman  who  wanted  to  know  what  had 
become  of  a  check  for  two  hundred  dollars 
which  she  had  sent  him  with  instructions  to  buy 
Trinity. 

Mr.  White  had  seen  the  advertisements  and 
had  paid  no  attention  to  them,  supposing  them 
to  be  signed  by  another  man  of  the  same  name. 
But  he  had^not  seen  the  woman's  two  hundred 
dollars,  and  it  instantly  struck  him  as  a 
becoming  thing  to  do  to  notify  the  Post  Office 
authorities.     This  he  did. 

Other  letters  addressed  in  the  same  way 
were  awaiting  delivery  at  the  post  office.  A 
Boston  Daily  Tribune  reporter  who  had  heard 
Mr.  White's  story  from  him   endeavored   to 

235 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

learn  what  had  been  done  with  them  and  was 
informed  by  a  subordinate  that  an  attempt 
having  been  made  to  deliver  them  to  Mr. 
Lawson  and  he  having  declined  to  take  them, 
saying  he  knew  nothing  about  them  or  the 
mysterious  White,  they  would  be  advertised, 
sent  to  the  Dead  Letter  Office,  and  presumably 
returned  to  the  senders. 

The  authorities,  however,  deemed  that  the 
matter  had  gone  far  enough.  They  sent  in- 
spectors to  see  Lawson.  He  first  denied  all 
knowledge  of  the  White  advertisements.  They 
convinced  him  they  had  proof  that  he  was  at 
the  bottom  of  it,  and  warned  him  plainly  that 
if  there  was  any  more  of  this  advertising  under 
an  alias  a  fraud  order  would  be  issued  against 
him  and  all  his  mail  would  be  returned  to  the 
senders. 

Confronted  by  this  proof,  Lawson  confessed 
and  begged  for  mercy.  He  promised  not  to 
repeat  the  offense — nor  has  he  until  this  day. 
The  Post  Office  authorities  told  him  that,  in 
the  absence  of  further  complaints,  they  would 
not  prosecute  him  if  he  stopped  the  practice. 

"William  W.  White,"  touter  of  Thomas  W. 
Lawson,  thereupon  died  a  sudden  and  igno- 
minious death.     Lawson  used  the  name  but 

236 


DIED— WILLIAM  W.  WHITE 

once  more,  and  that  was  in  connection  with 
his  own  signature,  which  he  had  the  legal  right 
to  do.  That  advertisement,  which  is  printed 
in  full  in  Chapter  XV  of  this  book,  com- 
bined with  a  resurrection  of  the  old,  outworn 
Franklin  J.  Moses  innuendo  the  following 
confession  of  the  government's  action  and 
laughable  explanation  of  it: 

Having  my  attention  called  to  the  fact  that  a  story 
was  put  afloat  to-day  that  I  had  ceased  advertising  be- 
cause of  a  notification  from  the  Post  Office  authorities 
that  I  must  do  so,  I  desire  to  state : 

The  Post  Office  authorities  did  say  that  my  enormous 
mail  ivas  clogging  up  the  Post  Office,  and  that  they 
hoped,  if  convenient,  that  I  would  make  it  as  light  as 
possible.  I  agreed  to  the  request  on  the  assurance  that 
all  things  connected  with  it  were  confidential. 

This  remarkable  advertisement  was  signed 
"Wrilliam  W.  White,  care  of  Thomas  W. 
Lawson." 

I  felt  justified  in  replying  to  this,  and  did  so 
in  the  following  published  words : 

I  brand  this  statement  as  false,  and  as  published  with 
intent  to  deceive  and  mislead  the  public,  as  were  prac- 
tically all  the  other  statements  in  the  same  advertise- 
ment, and  I  hereby  agree  to  pay  to  Thomas  W.  Lawson, 
to  "William  W.  White,"  or  to  any  charity  either  of 
them   may   name,   the   sum   of  ten  thousand   dollars 

237 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

($10,000)  on  receipt  of  proof  that  the  statements  in  any 
of  the  sentences  I  have  quoted  from  the  joint  advertise- 
ment of  "  William  W.  White"  and  Thomas  W.  Lawson 
are  not  absolute  falsehoods,  published  simply  and  solely 
to  deceive. 

That  reward  has  not  been  claimed  to  this 
day — nor  has  "William  W.  White"  ever  again 
come  to  life.  As  to  the  prediction  made  by 
"White"  in  his  last  advertisement,  that  is 
worthy  of  comment. 

"  'It  usually  takes  three  heats  to  win,'  "  he 
quoted  Lawson  as  saying.  'Trinity  has 
raced  its  first  one,  11  to  40.  Its  second  will  be 
from  40  to  75.  Then  will  come  the  finish, 
75  to — '  and  he  pointed  to  the  great  blue." 

Those  words  were  written  by  Lawson,  under 
an  alias,  more  than  eighteen  months  ago. 
Trinity  was  then  selling  in  the  thirties.  Soon 
after,  it  went  below  20.  It  has  hovered  be- 
tween 20  and  10  ever  since.  Yesterday  (I  am 
writing  these  words  on  August  10,  1908)  it  sold 
at  Uh 

Whose  prediction  was  good,  his  or  mine  ? 

In  this  morning's  newspapers  I  read  a 
Lawson  advertisement  (over  his  own  name) 
urging  the  public  to  participate  in  a  vast, 
blind,  discretionary  pool,  which  he  calls  "  Na- 

238 


DIED— WILLIAM  W.  WHITE 

tional  Stock,"  but  which  is  really  the  stock  of 
the  old,  worthless,  discredited  Bay  State  Gas 
Company.  I  find  these  words,  the  italics  being 
mine: 

"There  can  be  no  risk  in  buying  'National  Stock'  at 
$2,  no  risk  because  you  know  that  all  the  money  I  take 
in  through  the  sale  of  stock  is  as  safe  as  a  Government 
bond  until  I  begin  to  operate  with  it.  .  .  .  Every  one 
who  owns  a  share  of  *  National  Stock '  is  going  to  get  all 
that  is  coming  to  him. " 

If  I  were  to  make  a  prediction,  I  should 
make  the  same  one  made  by  the  late,  unla- 
mented  "William  W.  White":  "And  he 
pointed  to  the  great  blue." 

For  "National  Stock,"  like  Trinity,  cannot 
go  in  any  direction  except,  to  use  a  slang  phrase 
that,  like  most  slang,  is  tremendously  expres- 
sive, "up  in  the  air." 


239 


Chapter  XXIII 
THE  POWER  HIGHER  UP 

FOR  the  first  time  in  his  life,  Thomas 
W.  Lawson  had  been  placed  upon 
the  defensive. 

In  all  the  many  battles  which  he  had  waged 
he  had  pursued  the  policy  of  attacking  others. 
He  had  been  aggressive.  At  the  moment  when 
he  was  at  the  point  of  being  accused  he  had 
distracted  attention  by  accusing  somebody 
else.  Always  he  had  pursued  the  policy  of  the 
pickpocket  who,  seeing  that  his  victim  is  about 
to  give  an  alarm,  cries,  "Stop,  thief!"  and 
dashes  wildly  after  some  distant  and  dis- 
appearing stranger,  mingling  with  the  throng 
of  pursuers  and  escaping  during  the  excite- 
ment of  the  chase. 

By  a  cleverly  written  book,  part  distorted 
fact,  part  confession,  part  accusation,  and 
mostly  fiction,  he  had  secured  extensive  adver- 
tising and  drawn  away  attention  from  his  own 
methods  by  attacking  the  big  men  in  finance 
whose  patronage  had  originally  enabled  him  to 
acquire  riches.     This  policy,  so  successful  to 

240 


THE  POWER  HIGHER  UP 

his  ends,  he  had  kept  up.  He  had  never 
directly  denied  a  charge.  Confronted  with 
accusation,  his  reply  had  ever  been  an  attack 
upon  the  accuser.  His  plan  had  been  the  plan 
of  the  general  who  follows  the  enemy  so  hotly 
as  to  give  him  no  opportunity  to  attack. 

Now  the  plan  would  work  no  longer.  The 
power  of  publicity  had  been  thrown  on  the 
ravenings  of  the  Wolf-Pack,  and  its  old,  gray 
leader  had  come  to  the  point  where  he  could  no 
longer  distract  attention  by  crying  that  it  was 
the  lions  and  tigers  who  were  responsible  for 
the  ravages  of  the  Pack.  At  last  he  was 
backed  up  in  a  corner,  fighting  for  existence. 

All  attempts  to  throw  mud  at  the  securities 
sold  through  my  office  had  failed.  All  attempts 
to  bend  me,  or  break  me,  or  buy  me,  had 
failed.  The  investing  public  was  looking 
suspiciously  at  each  new  Lawson  flotation  and 
his  revenues  were  shrinking.  For  a  week  or 
more  he  fell  back  upon  the  old  Moses  talk,  but 
he  had  to  print  the  stuff  over  his  own  name, 
and  his  own  name  no  longer  had  the  power  to 
convince.  He  was  desperate.  He  realized 
that  he  must  secure  some  reputable  ally  or  he 
was  lost. 

In    the    successful    spreading    out    of    my 

241 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

business  I  opened  a  new  office  in  New  York 
City — a  commodious  and  handsome  suite  in 
the  St.  James'  Building,  at  the  corner  of 
Broadway  and  Twenty-sixth  Street.  I  held 
a  reception  on  the  opening  day,  and  five 
thousand  investors  called  on  me  there,  shook 
my  hand,  and  almost  without  exception  con- 
gratulated me  and  themselves  on  the  progress 
that  was  being  made  in  the  protection  of  the 
country's  investors  from  Lawson. 

Exactly  how  Lawson  managed  to  secure  the 
support  of  the  New  York  Sun  in  his  campaign 
I  have  never  learned.  The  Sun  was,  and  is, 
a  great  newspaper.  Once  the  independent 
mouthpiece  of  Charles  A.  Dana,  it  has,  since 
his  death,  been  controlled  by  a  syndicate. 
Common  repute  has  it  that  J.  Pierpont  Morgan 
is  the  power  in  or  behind  the  syndicate,  yet 
I  cannot  and  do  not  believe  that  it  was  through 
any  connivance  of  Mr.  Morgan,  or  even  with 
his  knowledge,  that  this  newspaper  became 
temporarily  a  weapon  in  the  hands  of  my 
enemies. 

Mr.  Morgan  is  a  great  financier — one  of  the 
greatest  the  world  has  ever  known.  He  is  a 
broad  man — too  broad  to  cherish  any  of  the 
petty  feelings  of  dissatisfaction  over  the  success 

242 


THE  POWER  HIGHER  UP 

of  my  methods  that  marked  some  other 
entirely  honest  men.  He  is  not  of  the  calibre 
to  be  influenced  by  Lawson  in  any  manner. 
I  do  not  believe  his  was  the  voice  that  gave  the 
order,  or  that  he  ever  even  knew  of  it.  Who 
was  great  enough  to  command  the  Sun  and 
yet  small  enough  to  be  used  for  Lawson's  dirty 
work  I  cannot  say,  for  I  do  not  know. 

However  it  was  arranged,  the  Sun  saw  fit  to 
attack  me  very  viciously  on  the  occasion  of  the 
opening  of  my  New  York  offices.  Written  in 
the  characteristic  Sun  vein,  the  article  was  of  a 
sort  to  prejudice  against  me  any  reader  who 
did  not  know  me  or  my  methods.  It  com- 
bined fact  and  fancy  most  cleverly.  It  referred 
to  the  dark  days  of  the  King-Crowther  Cor- 
poration, when  that  company  had  been  well- 
nigh  wrecked  by  the  anti-corporation  wave  in 
Texas,  and  stated  that  King-Crowther  stock 
had  never  been  heard  of  from  that  day  of  its 
difficulties  until  this  occasion  of  the  opening  of 
the  new  office.  From  beginning  to  end  it  was 
unfair,  unjust  and  mostly  untrue. 

Without  a  day's  delay  I  dictated  a  reply  to 
the  Suns  insinuations,  which  appeared  in  all 
the  large  newspapers  of  New  York  except  the 
Sun,  which  refused  to  print  it.     On  Friday, 

243 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

March  8,  the  Sun  renewed  its  attack  upon  me 
in  an  article  occupying  three  full  columns. 
This  time  the  deus  ex  machina  was  clear,  for 
not  only  were  the  vindictive  statements  regard- 
ing the  King-Crowther  Corporation  and  me 
repeated,  but  now  the  Sun  essayed  to  tell 
the  Governor  Moses  story — and  in  doing  so, 
told  it  as  no  one  but  Lawson  would  or  could 
tell  it.  The  insinuations  regarding  the  death 
of  Moses  were  not  only  highly  libellous,  but 
they  were  palpably  inspired,  and  inspired  by 
Lawson. 

On  Saturday  this  article  was  reprinted  in  the 
Sun  as  an  advertisement  signed  by  Lawson. 
It  was  also  printed  as  a  two-page  advertise- 
ment in  the  Boston  Herald  on  the  same  day, 
and  it  was  offered  to  the  other  Boston  news- 
papers. Not  another  one,  however,  would 
publish  it.  In  that  week,  alone,  Lawson  spent 
thousands  of  dollars  in  his  attempt  to  in- 
jure me. 

I  went  to  New  York  and  sought  Mr.  Chester 
S.  Lord,  managing  editor  of  the  Sun.  I  knew 
Mr.  Lord — had  known  him  for  many  years. 
In  my  early  days,  as  a  newspaper  corre- 
spondent, I  had  done  much  work  for  the  Sun, 
and  the  biggest  and  best  "beat"  I  had  ever 

244 


THE  POWER  HIGHER  UP 

scored  against  the  other  newspapers  had  been 
when  I  held  the  only  wire  and  sent  to  the  Sun 
an  exclusive  story  of  the  great  Bostain  Bridge 
railroad  disaster  in  North  Carolina.  I  knew 
Mr.  Lord,  and  Mr.  Lord  knew  me.  I  felt, 
therefore,  no  compunctions  in  going  frankly 
and  freely  to  him  and  asking  him  why  the  great 
newspaper  whose  news  department  is  sup- 
posed to  be  absolutely  under  his  control  had 
used  its  valuable  space  to  the  extent  of  three 
columns  to  print  malicious  and  wicked  un- 
truths against  me. 

Chester  S.  Lord  is  the  man  of  authority  and 
power  on  the  Sun.  It  was  to  be  presumed 
that  he,  and  he  alone,  could  order  such  a  story 
printed  or  thrown  out  from  the  Sun  columns. 

He  greeted  me  pleasantly.  It  was  apparent 
from  the  first  moment  of  our  meeting  that  he 
had  no  personal  feeling  of  any  sort  against  me. 

"  I  came  in,  Mr.  Lord,  to  ask  you  something 
about  the  story  the  Sun  printed  about  me,"  I 

said. 

"Yes?"  said  Mr.  Lord. 

"  I  want  to  ask  you  how  it  came  about  that 
such  a  story  could  '  get  by '  in  this  paper.  You 
have  known  me  a  good  many  years." 

" That's  right,  Mr.  King.     I  have." 

245 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

"And  you  know  me  well  enough  to  know 
that  such  a  story  could  not  be  true." 

Mr.  Lord  nodded  gravely. 

'Then  why — if  you  will  excuse  me  for  ask- 
ing that  question — why  did  you  pass  it?" 

The  great  managing  editor  considered  for  a 
moment,  seriously,  making  little  marks  on  a 
sheet  of  paper  before  him  as  he  thought. 
Then: 

"I  didn't,"  he  said. 

"Do  you  mean  to  tell  me,"  I  exclaimed, 
astonished,  "that  important  articles  like  that 
can  appear  in  the  Sun  without  your  orders,  or 
even  your  consent?" 

"  Not  usually." 

"But  in  this  case?" 

"  I  didn't  pass  the  story. " 

Perhaps  something  of  grave  concern  was 
passing  through  Mr.  Lord's  mind  as  I  hesi- 
tated. He  was  still  making  marks  on  the  pad 
of  paper  when  I  spoke  again.  '  Will  you  tell 
me  who  ordered  that  story  to  be  printed,  and 
why  my  letter  of  correction  could  not  appear?" 
I  asked. 

"I  do  not  think  you  should  ask  me  that 
question,  Mr.  King." 

"  Then  it  was— " 

246 


THE   POWER   HIGHER  UP 

Mr.  Lord  nodded.  "The  orders  came  from 
'higher  up,'  "  he  said. 

"It  would  be  useless,  then,  for  me  to  prove 
to  you  that  there  was  no  truth  in  the  story,  and 
to  ask  for  a  correction?" 

"I'm  sorry,  Mr.  King,  but  I  think  you 
should  not  ask  me  that  question,  either." 

I  arose.     "Good  day,  Mr.  Lord,"  I  said. 

He  offered  his  hand  cordially.  "Good 
day,"  he  said.     "And  good  luck  to  you." 

I  made  no  further  attempt  to  secure  a  cor- 
rection from  the  Sun,  the  more  as  it  soon 
developed  that  the  article  in  that  paper,  re- 
printed in  Lawson  advertisements,  had  not 
injured  me. 

It  was  now,  however,  that,  urged  by 
hundreds  of  investors,  and  seeing  the  time  ripe 
for  the  act,  I  determined  to  proceed  against 
Lawson  with  every  energy  at  my  command. 
This  became  the  more  needful  as  Lawson  at 
that  moment  was  concluding  the  Nevada-Utah 
campaign — the  greatest  swindle  in  all  his  list 
of  monumental  enterprises,  unless  it  shall  be 
excelled  by  the  Bay  State  Gas  bubble,  which 
is  being  blown  as  I  write  these  words. 


247 


Chapter  XXIV 
A  CONSCIENCELESS  CAMPAIGN 

OF  ALL  the  outrageous  schemes  ever 
invented  for  deluding  ignorant  people 
into  parting  with  their  money  under 
the  guise  of  "investment"  the  Nevada-Utah 
campaign,  which  Lawson  inaugurated  in 
the  closing  days  of  February,  1907,  is  about 
the  worst.  It  was  cruel,  conscienceless  and 
pitiless.  It  left  a  trail  of  blighted  lives,  of 
blasted  hopes,  of  suicides  and  failures.  It  is 
said  to  have  enriched  Lawson  over  two 
million  and  a  quarter  dollars.  Had  I  agreed 
to  his  proposition  to  assist  in  the  robbery  (or 
perhaps  he  would  have  been  satisfied  if  I 
had  merely  stood  by  and  refrained  from  show- 
ing up  his  game)  he  would  have  cleared  at  least 
ten  millions,  for  the  scheme  was  well  planned 
and  cleverly  executed. 

Nevada-Utah  was  selling  on  the  Boston  and 
New  York  Curb  at  two  to  three  dollars  a  share. 
It  is  alleged  that  Lawson  secured  an  option  on 
350,000  shares  at  $2  and  then  quietly  pur- 
chased all  there  was  to  be  had  in  the  open 

248 


A  CONSCIENCELESS  CAMPAIGN 

market.  Under  the  influence  of  his  buying, 
which  extended  over  two  or  three  months,  the 
stock  rose  to  four  or  thereabouts.  When  he 
had  become  possessed  of  practically  all  the 
stock  that  was  for  sale,  he  made  the  following 
announcement,  in  the  papers  of  February  27: 

At  last  it  looks  as  if  I  had  found  a  good  copper — an 
exceptionally  good  one,  one  of  the  kind  that  is  worth 
$40,000,000  to  $100,000,000,  one  of  the  kind  whose 
million  shares  of  stock,  now  selling  at  around  6,  might 
jump  to  40,  and  then  work  towards  100.  I  now  have 
my  experts  in  the  mines. 

He  announced  that  the  property  in  question 
was  the  Nevada-Utah.  He  did  not  say  that  he 
recommended  the  purchase  of  the  stock,  in  so 
many  words,  but  every  line  was  so  phrased  that 
it  practically  advised  immediate  purchase. 

On  that  day  140,000  shares  of  Nevada- 
Utah  were  sold  on  the  New  York  Curb  and 
66,000  shares  on  the  Boston  Curb. 

"Don't  buy  in  too  much  of  a  hurry,"  said 
Lawson.     "Wait  until  I  give  the  word." 

Poor,  blind  dupes!  They  fell  over  them- 
selves trying  to  get  in  before  he  gave  the  word, 
which  the  advertisement  intimated  was  sure  to 
come.  Thus  each  thought  he  was  buying  at  a 
lower  price  than  his  neighbor  would  later  pay. 

249 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

Up  went  the  price,  and  Lawson  sold  to  them 
all  at  a  tremendous  profit. 

On  February  28,  the  next  day,  Lawson  said: 

I  have  made  a  preliminary  investigation  of  the 
Nevada-Utah,  that  is,  I  have  examined  so  far  as  could 
have  been  done,  other  than  by  my  own  experts,  into  the 
condition  of  the  mines,  the  different  stages  of  develop- 
ment and  the  finances  and  past  history  of  the  company. 
I  have  been  told  by  those  connected  with  and  respon- 
sible for  the  management  of  the  property  what  has  been 
done,  what  is  being  done  and  what  will  be  done. 

Again  he  warned  everybody  not  to  buy  until 
he  gave  the  word.  Again  every  word  of  the 
advertisement  was  carefully  planned  to  make 
them  buy.  Lawson  announced  that  he  him- 
self had  bought  200,000  shares  and  had  options 
on  350,000  more. 

They  bought  at  seven,  at  eight.  Lawson 
sold  to  them. 

On  March  5  the  Lawson  advertisement  was 
entitled  "The  Smiling  Fates."     In  it  he  said: 

To  all  who  are  impatient  to  receive  my  report  I  will 
say:  The  proper  investigation  of  Nevada-Utah  is  a 
gigantic  task,  involving,  as  it  does,  a  vast  amount  of 
details,  maps,  analyses,  shipments,  etc.  Even  if  my 
experts  finish  their  work  this  week — the  reports  on  a 
matter  so  important  would  be  useless  until  finished — 

250 


A  CONSCIENCELESS  CAMPAIGN 

they  will  have  done  it  in  one-third  the  time  ordinary 
experts  would  consume. 

It  was  very  clear  from  the  tone  of  the 
advertisement  that  Lawson  had  no  doubt  of 
the  outcome.  The  stock  went  to  nine.  The 
public  bought.     Lawson  sold. 

At  this  time,  as  near  as  could  be  gathered 
by  the  trained  watchers  in  "the  Street," 
Lawson  completed  selling  the  long  line  of 
Nevada-Utah  stock  which  he  had  accumu- 
lated at  from  two  to  four  dollars  a  share.  It  is 
said  he  continued  to  "sell  short."  In  other 
words  he  sold  hundreds  of  thousands  of  shares 
which  he  didn't  have — sold  them  at  eight  and 
nine  dollars  a  share. 

It  is  a  dangerous  matter  to  sell  stock  short 
under  some  circumstances.  In  this  case,  how- 
ever, there  was  no  risk.  Lawson  controlled 
the  market  for  Nevada-Utah.  He  had  made 
it  by  his  advertisements;  he  could  unmake  it 
in  the  same  manner.  He  was  betting  that 
the  price  would  tumble — and  he  was  betting 
upon  an  absolutely  sure  thing. 

On  March  6  he  made  a  brief  announcement, 
of  which  the  following  is  the  major  part: 

I  received  word  late  this  afternoon  that  my  reports 
would  arrive  to-night,  and  I  have  held  this  space  until 

251 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

the  last  moment  to  give  my  decision.  I  now  have  the 
reports,  but  it  is  too  late  to  properly  digest  their  contents 
and  arrive  at  a  conclusion  before  morning.  My  adver- 
tisement  of  to-morrow  will  contain  my  conclusion  and 
probably  the  vital  parts  of  the  reports. 

On  the  next  day  he  evidently  had  not  sold  as 
many  shares  as  he  hoped  to.     So  he  said: 

I  regret  being  compelled  to  say  that,  after  going 
over  the  experts'  reports  of  the  different  Nevada 
properties,  I  must  postpone  my  decision  until  I  can  con- 
sult in  a  way  their  contents. 

No  word  came  on  March  8  or  9.  The 
market  began  to  sag  under  the  absence  of 
encouraging  reports  and  the  enormous  volume 
of  Lawson's  sales,  which  he  kept  up. 

On  the  morning  of  March  12  the  blow  was 
struck.  Lawson,  in  a  big  advertisement, 
announced  that  he  had  decided  not  to  advise  the 
purchase  of  Nevada-Utah.  Adding  insult  to 
injury,  he  congratulated  his  friends  and  ad- 
herents upon  waiting  for  the  word  and  thereby 
not  being  losers. 

It  was  a  terrible  shock  to  the  dupes.  At  the 
opening  of  the  market  they  were  in  a  frenzy  to 
sell.  They  threw  their  stock  in  by  the  thou- 
sand shares.  There  was  no  one  to  buy — but 
Lawson.     And  he  was  careful  to  buy  a  little 

252 


A  CONSCIENCELESS  CAMPAIGN 

less  than  was  offered  for  sale,  so  that  the  price 
went  down,  and  down,  and  down. 

It  went  to  four  or  thereabouts,  at  which  time 
and  figure  Lawson  is  said  to  have  completed 
his  purchases  to  "cover  his  shorts"  and  the 
campaign  was  over. 

Lawson  is  said  to  have  made  more  than  one 
million  dollars  as  he  put  the  price  up  with  his 
deceptive  advertisements.  He  is  said  to  have 
made  more  than  another  million  as  he  coldly 
and  cruelly  battered  it  down.  Both  millions 
he  made  from  would-be  investors  whom  he 
called  his  friends  and  followers. 

There  has  been  nothing  in  the  whole  history 
of  market  manipulation  to  equal  this  cam- 
paign for  vicious  cold-bloodedness.  I  ex- 
posed it  in  all  its  nakedness  from  beginning  to 
end  in  the  Boston  Daily  Tribune  and  King's 
Financial  Bulletin,  thereby  laying  up  for  myself 
an  added  harvest  of  hate.  Had  it  not  been 
for  my  words  of  warning,  the  price  would  have 
been  put  to  fifteen  or  twenty  and  Lawson's 
winnings  (if  that  is  the  word  for  money 
obtained  in  so  sure  a  heads-I-win-tails-you-lose 
fashion)  would  have  been  many  millions  more. 

When  Lawson  was  intimating  that  Nevada- 
Utah  might  be  expected  to  "jump  to  40,   and 

253 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

then  work  towards  100"  I  announced  to  all 
investors  who  looked  to  me  for  advice  that  it 
was  not  worth  the  four  or  five  it  was  then 
quoted  at. 

Nevada-Utah  is  to-day  selling  under  three 
dollars.     Was  Lawson  right,  or  was  I  ? 


254 


Chapter  XXV 
THUS  FAR  SHALT  THOU  GO 

THE  Nevada-Utah  swindle,  following  so 
closely  on  the  heels  of  the  two  Trinity 
campaigns,  each  of  which  had  left  its 
trail  of  bruised  and  bleeding  victims,  was  the 
last  straw  that  broke  the  camel's  back.     It 
was  time  to  call  a  final  halt. 

From  every  corner  of  the  country,  but 
especially  from  New  York  and  New  England, 
where  the  Lawson  campaigns  had  been  most 
notorious,  I  received  hundreds  of  letters.  The 
writers,  poor  investors  who  had  suffered, 
recounted  their  wrongs  and  asked  if  something 
could  not  be  done  to  protect  them  and  others. 

Until  then  Lawson  had  conducted  his 
schemes  with  what  may  be  called,  for  lack  of  a 
better  description,  decent  intervals  between. 
Now  he  had  engineered  three  within  less  than 
two  months,  and  out  of  the  three,  one  had  been 
partially  successful — indeed,  a  campaign  that 
brought  forth  a  profit  of  more  than  two  millions 
of  dollars  would  be  called  entirely  successful 
but  for  the  fact  that  it  would  have  been  five 

255 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

times  as  profitable  had  I  not  exposed  it  from  its 
first  announcement.  My  mail  was  filled  with 
appeals  that  rivaled  the  cry  of  old:  "Come 
over  into  Macedonia  and  help  us." 

For  several  months  I  had  been  gather- 
ing evidence  against  Lawson — evidence  that 
proved  indisputably  how  his  victims  had  been 
wronged.  But,  owing  to  the  indirect  manner 
by  which  he  works,  it  was  hard  to  bring  him 
legally  to  book.  There  is  a  crime  on  the 
Massachusetts  statute  books  called  "  Obtain- 
ing money  under  false  pretenses."  This  was 
the  natural  statute  under  which  he  should  be 
reached  and  punished,  but  owing  to  the  fact 
that  he  did  not  directly  offer  his  stocks  to  the 
public  for  sale  it  was  difficult  to  gain  the 
evidence  that  might  result  in  a  conviction. 

In  other  words,  it  was  an  easy  matter  to 
prove  the  false  pretenses — the  Lawson  career 
has  a  trail  of  them  as  long  as  a  comet's  tail — - 
but  very  hard  to  prove  that  Lawson  himself 
had  secured  the  money.  Hard  to  prove  it  in  a 
legal  sense,  I  mean.  Ordinary  common  sense 
proved  it,  popularly  speaking. 

In  the  beginning  I  had  set  about  gathering 
evidence  without  any  idea  of  using  it  in  a  court 
of  law.     I  merely  expected  it  to  add  to  the 

256 


THUS  FAR  SHALT  THOU  GO 

weight  of  the  warnings  I  should  print  in  my 
newspapers  and  write  in  letters  to  my  cus- 
tomers. As  the  weeks  went  by  and  Lawson 
became  more  daring  and  desperate  it  began  to 
look  as  though  the  only  protection  for  the 
investors  of  the  country  was  to  stop  him. 

Lawson  himself  provided  the  necessary  am- 
munition with  which  to  do  this,  and  in  a  most 
unexpected  way.  To  a  man  of  his  style  of 
craft  it  would  be  as  effective  a  prevention  of 
future  swindles  to  secure  the  issuance  of  a 
fraud  order  against  him  by  authority  of  the 
Post  Office  as  to  have  him  arraigned  at  the 
bar  of  justice.  Until  January,  1907,  he  had 
carefully  refrained  from  doing  anything  that 
would  allow  the  officials  of  that  department  to 
proceed  against  him.  Now,  in  his  rage,  hate 
and  desperation,  he  had  taken  to  using 
aliases.  In  doing  this,  he  had  himself  manu- 
factured the  weapon  which  might  best  be  used 
against  him.  In  "William  W.  White"  and 
"Mortimer  Kensington  Queen"  he  had  built 
up  Frankenstein  monsters  which  might  be 
depended  upon  to  turn  and  rend  him. 

On  every  side,  my  customers,  clients  and 
friends  were  begging,  urging  and  advising 
that  I  go  to  extreme  lengths  with  Lawson.     It 

257 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

was  the  consensus  of  opinion  that  patience 
had  ceased  to  be  a  virtue;  that  the  time  for 
mere  warnings  against  him  was  past ;  that  only 
by  actual  legal  proceedings  could  he  be  halted 
in  his  career  of  ruin  and  devastation. 

"You  alone  can  do  this,"  they  said.  "It  is 
your  duty — your  duty  to  us  and  to  yourself." 

Then  it  was  that  I  called  a  meeting  of  all  the 
executives  of  my  business.  So  important  a 
move  should  not  be  taken  without  the  best 
advice  that  could  be  obtained.  The  meeting 
was  held  in  my  private  office  in  the  forenoon 
of  March  10,  1907.  Every  important  member 
of  my  staff  in  Boston  and  New  York  was 
present. 

In  the  second  chapter  of  my  book  I  have 
described  that  gathering.  I  have  told  of  the 
pile  of  evidence  that  lay  upon  my  desk,  and 
the  marshaling  of  my  immediate  resources 
represented  by  cashiers'  checks,  aggregating 
nearly  one-half  million  of  dollars,  that  lay 
beside  it.  I  have  told  how  I  submitted  the 
evidence  and  asked  each  lieutenant's  advice, 
and  how  each  agreed  that  there  was  but  one 
thing  to  do — for  the  protection  of  investors,  of 
myself,  of  my  employees — and  that  was  to 
proceed  aggressively  against  Lawson. 

258 


THUS  FAR  SHALT  THOU  GO 

Did  I  say  every  member  of  the  staff  advised 
this  ?     I  should  have  written  all  but  one. 

There  was  one  who  was  lukewarm — who 
hedged  and  haggled,  and  hummed  and  hawed, 
and  suggested  this  and  that,  and  did  not  meet 
the  question  squarely,  but  whose  attitude  was 
not  in  sympathy  with  the  general  concord  of 
opinion.  He  was  the  manager  of  my  clerical 
force — one  Henry  Hovey  Love.  Of  him  I 
shall  write  more  as  this  book  progresses.  Not 
much,  perhaps,  for  although  he  has  done  his 
best — or  worst — to  assist  Lawson  and  bring 
about  my  discomfiture  he  is,  after  all,  but  a 
very  small  person  and  not  worthy  of  a  large 
expenditure  of  printer's  ink. 

His  opposition  was  swallowed  in  the  general 
unanimity  of  opinion,  and,  as  I  have  hitherto 
written,  it  was  definitely  decided  that  no  mercy 
should  be  shown — that  the  war  with  Lawson 
should  be  a  war  of  extermination,  with  no 
quarter  asked  and  none  given. 

The  conference  adjourned,  and  each  mem- 
ber went  his  way.  I  spent  the  remainder  of 
the  day  dictating  a  long  and  comprehensive 
article  for  the  following  morning's  Boston 
Daily  Tribune,  an  article  reviewing  Lawson's 
career  and  laying  his  character  bare  to  the 

259 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

world — an  article  so  true  and  striking  that  over 
four  hundred  thousand  copies  of  that  issue  of 
the  Boston  Daily  Tribune  were  sold,  and  in 
Wall  Street,  New  York,  two  days  later,  copies 
were  in  demand  at  fifty  cents  apiece. 

Within  one  hour  from  the  adjournment  of 
that  conference,  Thomas  W.  Lawson  knew  of 
it.  Within  three  hours  his  attorneys  were 
threatening  to  secure  an  injunction  from  the 
courts  to  prevent  the  Boston  Daily  Tribune 
being  published  on  the  following  morning. 

I  do  not  know — that  is  to  say,  I  cannot 
prove — who  bore  the  news  post  haste  to  Law- 
son.     Suffice  it  to  say  that  some  one  did. 

The  courts  of  Massachusetts,  and  their 
judges,  are  not  to  be  easily  moved.  Although 
the  attorney  whom  Lawson  sent  on  this 
injunction-seeking  errand  was  a  leading  light 
of  the  Massachusetts  bar,  his  errand  was  fruit- 
less. The  Massachusetts  courts  are  slow  to 
enjoin  the  issuing  of  a  newspaper,  for  Massa- 
chusetts has  always  been,  more  than  any  other 
state  in  the  Union,  the  home  of  free  speech. 
What  the  honorable  justice  to  whom  Lawson's 
attorney  applied  said  to  him,  according  to  the 
report  that  came  to  me,  was  something  like 
this: 

260 


THUS  FAR  SHALT  THOU  GO 

"An  injunction  may  issue  only  to  prevent 
something  from  being  done  which  could 
legally  be  done  in  the  absence  of  the  injunction. 
You  tell  me  that  it  is  the  purpose  of  this  paper 
to  publish  an  article  that  is  libellous  and 
injurious  to  your  client.  If  it  is  libellous  it  is 
an  illegal  thing  to  print,  and  its  publication 
cannot  be  enjoined.  You  will  have  your  re- 
course in  law  after  its  publication.  If  the 
article  is  not  libellous,  then  the  newspaper  has 
a  legal  right  to  print  it,  and  there  is  no  public 
end  to  be  served  which  makes  an  injunction 
either  necessary  or  proper." 

So  the  request  was  refused  and  the  Boston 
Daily  Tribune,  with  the  most  earnest,  em- 
phatic and  truthful  story  of  Thomas  W.  Law- 
son  that  has  ever  appeared,  either  before  or 
since,  appeared  on  the  streets  as  usual  on  the 
morning  of  March  11. 

On  the  editorial  page  appeared  a  statement 
of  my  position,  over  my  personal  signature. 
As  I  read  it  to-day,  I  feel  that  I  cannot  set 
forth  any  more  clearly  than  I  did  then,  the 
aims  which  actuated  me  and  the  objects  I 
had  in  view.  It  bore  this  title:  "Unmask- 
ing a  Hypocrite  and  Deceiver,"  and  was  as 
follows : 

261 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

In  this  editorial  bearing  my  signature  I  rise  to  a 
question  of  personal  privilege,  at  the  same  time  justi- 
fying my  individual  defense  and  vindication  on  the 
basis  of  the  broadest  public  policy. 

As  a  responsible  public  journalist,  and  a  public 
financier,  acknowledging  in  both  spheres  and  capacities 
the  full  measure  of  his  public  trust,  I  submit  that  an 
occasion  has  arisen  of  so  extraordinary  character  that, 
while  it  pivots  upon  my  personality,  transcends  in  its 
full  significance  the  mere  limitations  of  my  name, 
identity  and  individual  interests,  and  becomes  above  all 
else  an  issue  of  the  greatest  public  concern. 

It  is  in  no  spirit  of  egotism,  for  it  is  with  a  feeling  of 
absolute  self-renunciation  and  effacement  superinduced 
by  an  overshadowing  sense  of  public  duty,  of  civic 
demands — of  the  interests  of  decent  American  man- 
hood and  womanhood — that  I  approach  this  subject 
and  proceed  to  the  arraignment,  the  denunciation  and 
the  exposure  that  lie  at  the  point  of  my  pen. 

As  a  newspaper  publisher  and  a  financier,  my  public 
utterances  are  of  daily  occurrence.  In  this  way  I 
realize  that  my  name,  my  individuality  and  my  affairs 
become  matters  of  much  and  wide  public  scrutiny. 
Numerous  and  extensive,  however,  as  are  my  methods 
of  getting  before  the  public  as  a  devotee  of  "publicity" 
for  public  men  and  corporations  in  all  my  business 
activities,  these  appearances  in  the  public  prints  are 
still  of  a  modified  impersonal  nature,  for  I  share  the  dis- 
taste of  all  right-thinking  men  for  discussing  my  purely 
personal  affairs  in  public,  save  under  the  duress  of  an 
imputation  of  my  character  that  compels  me  to  speak 

262 


THUS  FAR  SHALT  THOU  GO 

in  my  own  behalf  and  in  the  possible  behalf  of  all  good 
men  and  women  who  may  be  called  on  to  rest  at  some 
time  in  their  lives  under  the  shadow  of  an  undeserved 
stigma. 

I  have  been  as  a  journalist,  financier  and  publisher  in 
business  in  Boston  for  a  number  of  years,  during  which 
period,  and  for  many  years  previous,  this  city  has  been 
the  residence  and  the  usual  base  of  operations  of  Thomas 
W.  Lawson. 

As  a  financier,  the  announcements  of  my  campaigns 
and  policies  in  the  public  prints  have  conflicted  more 
or  less  with  those  of  Thomas  W.  Lawson,  but,  notwith- 
standing that  my  business  differed  from  that  of  Thomas 
W.  Lawson  in  that  I  have  been  engaged  in  the  captain- 
ing of  industries  of  production — industries  whose  claims 
to  recognition  and  existence  rest  fundamentally  on  the 
assurance  of  their  present  or  future  capacity  for  earnings 
and  profit-sharing — those  of  Thomas  W.  Lawson  are 
conspicuous  for  the  absence  of  such  essential  or  even 
special  pretense  thereto — notwithstanding  we  traveled 
different  and  widely  divergent  paths,  there  was,  on  my 
part,  absolute  acquiescence  to  an  agreement  to  disagree 
with  him. 

Up  to  six  months  ago,  though  never  in  the  slightest 
agreement  with  the  business  or  methods  of  Thomas  W. 
Lawson,  I  had  for  the  man  a  certain  respect,  un- 
submitted  to  the  process  of  analysis,  of  the  kind  which 
honest  men,  obeying  the  promptings  of  some  primal 
instinct,  frequently  admit  for  fair  and  courageous 
fighters,  regardless  of  the  merit  of  their  cause. 

I  yielded  him  a  measure  of  qualified  respect,  because 

263 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

I  recognized  in  him  the  chief  exponent  and  representa- 
tive of  that  contingent  of  the  population  which  looks  on 
gambling  in  margins  and  the  manipulation  of  the  shares 
of  corporations  on  the  stock  market  as  a  necessary  and 
not  unmixed  evil. 

That  respect,  tempered  up  to  six  months  ago  with  a 
refusal  to  accept  the  man  in  more  than  partial  serious- 
ness, often  moved  me  to  refer  to  him  and  his  work,  from 
time  to  time,  in  a  half  jesting  and  considerate  mood, 
treating  with  no  little  amused  indifference  the  result 
of  his  wayward  vagaries  and  vaporings  as  they  might 
affect  my  business. 

I  was  doomed  to  a  rude  and  unpleasant  awaken- 
ing, however,  about  six  months  ago,  when  I  discovered, 
to  my  astonishment,  by  the  employment  of  the  usual 
methods  of  my  business,  that  Thomas  W.  Lawson  had 
been  at  work  for  some  time  past  through  an  under- 
ground system  in  the  effort  to  destroy  me  and  my 
business. 

This  systematic  and  surreptitious  campaign  for 
the  accomplishment  of  my  business  ruin  and  personal 
undoing,  has  just  culminated  in  the  daily  press  of  New 
York  and  Boston,  in  an  attack  upon  me,  my  business 
and  the  corporations  I  represent  that  is  so  vile,  so 
dastardly,  so  maliciously  false,  that  I  can  quite  under- 
stand now  that  it  could  have  emanated  from  no  other 
man  in  America  than  Thomas  W.  Lawson. 

For  months  that  campaign  of  attempted  midnight 
assassination  has  been  waged  by  this  social  and  financial 
parasite  and  pariah  under  the  cloak  of  dark  mystery. 
By    contemptible    insinuation,   by    the    subterfuge   of 

264 


THUS  FAR  SHALT  THOU  GO 

fictitious  names,  by  all  the  foul  methods  of  which  the 
man  is  a  past-master,  he  has  endeavored  to  discredit  my 
honorably  earned  position  as  financial  agent  and  pro- 
moter of  large  enterprises,  until,  brought  to  bay  by  the 
authorities  of  the  United  States,  he  was  compelled  to 
throw  down  the  coward's  mask  of  anonymity  and  drag 
himself  into  the  open,  where  he  has  constitutional 
objections  to  fighting. 

Nothing  loth,  as  I  am  ever,  to  discussing  in  my 
publication  and  my  business  announcements  matters 
of  assumed  measurable  public  concern  over  my  sig- 
nature or  upon  my  sole  and  distinct  personal  respon- 
sibility, I  consider  such  a  practice  as  in  no  wise  in- 
compatible with  my  habitual  aversion  to  discussing  in 
public  matters  of  a  purely  personal  and  private  nature. 
I  am  likewise  averse  to  the  public  discussion  in  any 
adverse  manner  of  the  records  of  those  who  have  passed 
beyond  the  pale  of  human  jurisdiction  to  their  final 
account  before  the  tribunal  of  the  Most  High. 

I  adhere  to  the  teachings  of  my  childhood, — to  the 
simple  faith  that  I  learned  at  my  mother's  knee,  and  as 
the  result  of  my  old-fashioned  instruction,  I  own  to  the 
choice  of  undergoing  in  silence  all  the  injury  and  mis- 
understanding that  a  self-respecting  man  can  possibly 
endure  rather  than  inflict  my  personal  grievances  and 
rather  than  defy  the  time-honored  injunction  "of  the 
dead  say  nothing  but  good." 

But  there  are  times  when  one  must  speak — when  en- 
durance can  no  longer  be  exercised  in  justification  as 
a  virtue — when  even  the  stealth  that  the  right  hand  im- 
poses upon  the  left  hand  in  the  ministrations  to  the 

265 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

fallen  and  the  unfortunate  must  be  ruthlessly  exposed  to 
the  world — when  all  that  has  been  done  and  left  untold 
"for  sweet  charity's  sake"  must  be  brought  to  light  in 
obedience  to  the  stern,  inexorable  decree  of  justice — 
when  justice  must  be  done  though  the  heavens  fall  and 
though  unsodded  graves  yawn  and  belch  forth  even  the 
unshriven  dead — when  the  rights  of  the  living  must  be 
recognized  and  the  truth  of  history  established  even  at 
the  expense  of  the  dead,  whose  memory  our  pitying, 
perishing  mortality  should  prompt  us  to  leave  as 
inviolate,  ever-deepening  shadows  of  a  merciful  obscur- 
ity. 

That  I  am  forced  to  speak  of  myself — that  I  am  forced 
to  speak  of  my  relations  to  the  dead — is  due  to  the  per- 
secution of  Thomas  W.  Lawson — due  to  Thomas  W. 
Lawson,  who  corrupted  the  man  whom  I  befriended — 
who  employed  in  secret,  treasonable  and  pernicious 
activity  against  me  the  man  whom  I  had  rescued  from 
pauperism  and  crime — who  pushed  back  into  the  muck 
depths  and  the  slough  of  despair  the  man  whom  I  stepped 
aside  into  the  gutter  and  stooped  down  to  lift  and  save — 
who  destroyed  the  miserable  creature  it  was  my  purpose 
and  effort  to  reclaim — who  made  of  him  what  Thomas 
W.  Lawson  of  all  men  in  all  the  world  can  tempt  a  poor 
human  worm  of  the  dust  into — an  unspeakable,  incor- 
rigible ingrate. 

And  I  say  deliberately  and  solemnly — holding  in  mind 
the  deathbed  declaration  of  Daniel  Webster,  that  the 
greatest  thought  of  his  life  was  ever  that  of  his  individual 
responsibility  to  his  Maker — that  I  believe  that  aged, 
decrepit  and  senile  man,  his  power  of  resistance  partially 

266 


THUS  FAR  SHALT  THOU  GO 

destroyed  under  the  weight  of  his  weakness  and  curse- 
that  white-haired  old  man,  enfeebled  and  perverted  be- 
yond measure  through  vice,  crime,  dissipation  and 
imprisonment— would  be  living  to-day  in  the  com- 
petency and  peace  of  mind  I  had  provided  him,  doubt- 
less befitting  his  soul  for  an  eternal  peace  with  its  God, 
but  for  the  unholy  bargain  he  entered  into  with  Thomas 
W.  Lawson  for  the  accomplishment  of  the  destruction  of 
his  patron,  employer  and  benefactor. 

I  say— and  I  pause  here  to  measure  every  word, 
syllable  and  letter— that  I  believe  the  deep  damnation 
of  Franklin  J.  Moses'  taking  off  is  constructively  due  to 
Thomas  W.  Lawson.     I  believe  that  the  remains  of 
Franklin  J.  Moses  lie  in  a  suicide's  grave  in  the  little 
old  cemetery  of  Winthrop  because  the  nature  that  ever 
since  the  days  of  reconstruction  in  South  Carolina  had 
been  unable  to  resist  the  power  of  money  and  of  evil 
influence,   had    succumbed   to   the   superior   blandish- 
ments of  Thomas  W.  Lawson— had  yielded  and  had 
shown  the  pieces  of  silver  only  a  few  days  before  like 
Judas,  indicating  what  we  are  now  morally  certain  to 
have  been  the  price  of  his  crime,  and  had  afterward, 
through  possible  fear  of  the  disclosure  of  the  full  enor- 
mity of  his  betrayal— the  partial  discovery  of  which  he 
was  quickly  confronted   with— or   through   a  sense  of 
overwhelming  remorse,  shame,  and,  perhaps,  returning 
decency,  followed  the  example  of  Judas  and  put  an  end 
to  his  checkered  life. 

The  time  for  soft  words  has  passed.  The  time  has 
come  to  remove  kid  gloves.  The  time  has  come  for  me 
to  put  in  print  words  of  accusation  and  denunciation 

267 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

that  I  would  prefer  to  pass  my  life  acquitted  of  having 
employed  against  any  human  being. 

I  charge  Thomas  W.  Lawson  with  taking  up  a 
degenerate  and  derelict,  whom  I  had  partially  succeeded 
in  reclaiming,  and  debauching  him  to  bring  about  my 
undoing. 

I  charge  him  with  putting,  by  the  exercise  of  his 
superior  villainy  and  cunning,  this  unfortunate  in  his 
power  for  the  purpose  of  poisoning  my  springs — of 
sowing  tares  among  my  wheat — of  unearthing  informa- 
tion which  he  could  torture  to  his  own  end. 

I  charge  Thomas  W.  Lawson  with  being  directly 
responsible  for  bringing  this  miserable  tool  of  his  to  a 
violent  and  untimely  death. 

I  charge  Thomas  W.  Lawson  with  not  only  stooping 
thus  to  conquer,  but  of  stopping  not  even  there — of 
employing  purchasable  and  disreputable  pettifoggers 
and  shysters  to  do  his  dirty  bidding  of  discrediting  me, 
and  corporations  with  which  I  am  identified,  by  means 
of  public  advertising  and  otherwise. 

I  charge  Thomas  W.  Lawson  with  hiring,  inspiring 
and  conspiring  with  a  scurvy  ruck  of  scrubs,  gathered 
from  curbs,  sewers,  bucket-shops  and  brokerage  houses, 
to  conduct  an  irresponsible  and  vilely  outrageous 
campaign  through  public  advertising  and  otherwise  for 
the  gratuitous  purpose  of  depressing  the  stock  of  the 
King-Crowther  Corporation  and  discrediting  the  cor- 
poration. 

I  charge  Thomas  W.  Lawson  with  the  employ- 
ment of  aliases  enough  to  cover  the  itinerary  of  a  safe- 
cracker from  Boston  Harbor  to  Devil's  Island  in  his 

268 


THUS  FAR  SHALT  THOU  GO 

career  of  anonymous  advertising,  much  of  which  was 
used  in  a  fruitless  effort  to  destroy  the  King-Crowther 
Corporation. 

I  charge  Thomas  W.  Lawson  with  deliberate  falsi- 
fication a°nd  fabrication  in  his  public  announcements- 
with  statements  made  with  deliberate  intent  to  deceive, 
defraud  and  despoil-with  a  lawless  defiance  and  con- 
tempt for  authority-with  false  representation  of  an 
alien  and  seditious  tendency  against  the  government 
postal  authorities^  a  desperation  in  his  desire  to  save 
his  pelt  and  hide  from  being  nailed  to  the  fence  by 
public    sentiment    and    constituted    authority,    which 
amounts  to  anarchy-cowardly,  selfish  anarchy,  and 
not  the  brand  which  is  sublimated  through  the  self- 
abnegation  and  sacrifice  of  its  philosophical  disciples. 
I  charge  Thomas  W.  Lawson  with  being  an  enemy  to 
society,   with   having  forfeited   the   confidence   of  his 
countrymen,  with  having  become  a  hissing  and  a  by- 
word in  the  mouths  and  ears  of  honest  men,  of  having 
paused  at  nothing  in  his  unscrupulousness  to  carry  his 
point  and  obtain  his  ends. 

Macchiavelli,  loyal  to  his  prince,  and  desirous  of  ends 
that  may  have  befitted  the  age  and  condition  ot 
society  in  which  he  lived,  regardless  of  the  means 
employed,  was  without  the  truculence  of  Thomas  W. 

Lawson.  - 

Horace  Walpole,  who  believed,  in  his  suave  way,  that 

every  man  had  his  price,  thinking  his  philosophy  bes 

suited  to  the  public  ends  of  his  period,  was  not  the  equal 

in  virulence  of  Thomas  W.  Lawson. 

Cardinal  Richelieu  employed  his  finesse  with  king 

269 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

and  court  to  less  selfish  ends  than  those  which  engage 
the  effort  of  Thomas  W.  Lawson. 

Aaron  Burr  may  be  classed  as  a  soldier  of  fortune  and 
a  premature  empire-builder,  compared  with  Thomas 
W.  Lawson. 

The  language  I  have  directed  at  Thomas  W.  Lawson 
is  plain  United  States — not  Volapuk — not  Esperanto — 
not  Simian — not  the  gibberish  of  the  monkey-house — not 
the  slang  of  the  street — not  the  billingsgate  of  the  fish- 
wharves.  It  is  a  language  that,  paradox  though  he  may 
be,  he  cannot  help  but  understand. 

Now  that  I  have  dispelled  the  shadows  in  which 
this  financial  bravo  was  so  fond  of  lurking,  the 
battle  will  be  waged  to  my  liking.  And  I  give  notice  to 
Thomas  W.  Lawson  here  and  now — as  it  is  given  for  me 
in  other  portions  of  this  newspaper,  one  of  whose  mis- 
sions is  to  destroy  the  public  influence  of  stock  gamblers 
like  him,  who  play  the  people  false — that  I  shall  spare 
no  legal  means  and  none  of  the  resources  with  which  I 
am  amply  supplied  to  put  out  of  his  iniquitous  game  for- 
ever, this  creature,  whose  highest  impulses  centre  about 
the  stock  ticker,  and  whose  chiefest  joy  is  in  plundering 
a  deluded  constituency. 

I  will  not  follow  the  example  of  this  man,  who  has 
seen  fit  to  assail  me,  in  divesting  myself  of  financial 
responsibility;  for  what  I  say,  and  for  what  this  news- 
paper shall  say,  I  assume  full  and  complete  liability. 
No  search  parties  of  Pinkerton  men  will  be  necessary 
for  the  discovery  of  my  property.  And,  with  the  full 
realization  of  all  this,  I  repeat  to  Thomas  W.  Lawson 
that,  from  this  moment,  his  career  of  hypocritical  fleec- 

270 


THUS  FAR  SHALT  THOU  GO 

ing  of  the  public,  his  pastime  of  assaulting  better 
men's  reputations,  is  not  to  go  on  unchecked  as  in  the 
past. 

It  is  the  duty  of  every  honest  man  with  the  weapons  at 
his  command  to  stop  the  depredations  of  an  enemy  to 
society.  It  is  all  the  more  insistent  when  that  enemy 
so  sinks  his  manhood  and  his  primal  instincts  of  truth, 
if  he  ever  had  any,  as  to  pose  as  society's  ally  and 
defender. 

For  years  Thomas  W.  Lawson  has  waxed  fat  upon 
the  losses  of  others.  The  millions  that  have  come  into 
his  hands  and  passed  out  again  in  the  mad  desire  for 
luxury,  for  ostentation,  for  unattainable  social  position, 
have  been  wet  with  the  tears  of  the  ruined  who  have 
trusted  him.  How  many  pistol-shots  in  the  hands  of 
suicides,  how  many  foreclosures  of  mortgages,  how  many 
despairing  prayers  of  widows  and  orphans  have  been 
the  direct  result  of  his  methods  may  never  be  known. 

And,  finally,  I  say  that  I  will  cling  to  my  ideals 
unshaken  and  unchanged.  I  will  go  forward  without 
variableness  or  shadow  of  turning.  In  the  language  and 
spirit  of  Garrison  himself,  I  say  that  I  will  not  lie — I 
will  not  recant — I  will  not  equivocate — and  /  will  be 
heard.  I  will  not  be  browbeaten.  I  will  turn  on  the 
light.  I  will  cry  out  and  spare  not.  I  will  not  cease 
firing  while  there  is  a  shot  in  the  locker. 

As  long  as  I  command  a  dollar  that  I  can  sacrifice  in 
this  righteous  crusade  against  crooked  and  unscrupulous 
financiers,  it  matters  not  what  flag  they  fly,  the  Tribune 
will  be  published — continued  on  its  present  lines — and 
will  carry  this  war  on  to  the  knife  and  from  the  knife  to 

271 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

the  hilt,  giving  no  quarter  and  expecting  none  from  the 
enemies  of  truth, — of  right — of  fair  play. 

And  always  the  fight  will  be  in  the  open,  with  my  face 
to  the  foe. 

The  investors  of  America  had  spoken  to 
Thomas  W.  Lawson.  Goaded  beyond  en- 
durance they  had  cried — and  I  had  voiced 
their  cry:  "Thus  far  shalt  thou  go,  and  no 
farther." 


272 


Chapter  XXVI 
PROGRESS— AND  AN  INSURRECTION 

I  PROCEEDED  to  make  good  my  promise 
to  the  public,  with  the  result  that  Law- 
son's  public  activity  stopped  like  a  shot. 
He  had  no  time  these  days  to  formulate 
plans  for  additional  fleecing.  He  was  too 
busy  striving  to  ward  off  the  impending 
punishment  his  years  of  market-rigging  had 
so  well  earned. 

I  retained  as  special  attorney,  in  addition  to 
my  own  personal  counsel,  one  of  the  ablest 
and  most  respected  lawyers  at  the  Massa- 
chusetts bar,  and  placing  in  his  hands  the 
evidence  I  had  secured,  instructed  him  to  take 
the  necessary  measures  to  carry  out  the  end  I 
had  promised — -the  ridding  of  the  investors  of 
the  country,  for  all  time,  of  the  Leader  of  the 
Wolf-Pack.  Had  the  plan  been  carried  out, 
the  boon  to  the  American  public  would  have 
been  one  never  to  be  forgotten,  for  with  the 
old,  gray  leader  gone,  the  Pack  would  have 
scattered  and  fled  for  cover,  never  to  appear 
again. 

273 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

It  is  no  violation  of  confidence,  I  feel  sure,  to 
say  that  the  attorney  whom  I  had  engaged 
took  up  his  task  with  enthusiasm.  No  lawyer 
in  all  the  Commonwealth  is  of  higher  standing 
than  he — none  has  a  reputation  for  greater 
probity — therefore  none  could  be  more  pleased 
at  the  opportunity  that  now  came  about  to 
assist  in  doing  a  good  deed  for  mankind. 

In  the  Boston  Daily  Tribune  I  called  upon 
all  investors  who  had  been  victimized  by  Law- 
son  to  send  me  the  evidence.  The  result  was 
a  very  Niagara  of  letters.  All  the  evidence 
that  I  had  secured  was  placed  before  my 
attorney.  As  a  result  of  several  conferences, 
it  was  determined  to  proceed  along  the  lines 
of  least  resistance — in  other  words,  where 
Lawson  had  made  himself  most  vulnerable,  by 
means  of  the  Post  Office  Department  and  an 
application  for  a  fraud  order. 

While  this  matter  was  being  planned,  and 
evidence  was  being  piled  upon  evidence,  an 
occurrence  came  about  which  would  be  almost 
laughable  were  it  not  for  its  sinister  significance. 
In  my  absence  from  Boston  on  business,  an 
insurrection  was  planned  and  almost  carried 
out  in  my  own  office. 

It  was  impossible  that  I  should  devote  all, 

274 


PROGRESS— AND  AN  INSURRECTION 

or  even  a  major  part,  of  my  time,  to  the  in- 
vestors' fight  against  Lawson.  My  own  busi- 
ness was  of  large  proportions.  I  had  extensive 
offices  in  Boston  and  New  York.  It  was 
necessary  that  I  work  from  early  morning 
until  late  at  night  to  attend  to  the  duties  that 
the  management  of  such  an  organization 
involved.  It  was  while  I  was  at  my  New 
York  office  for  a  week  or  ten  days  that  treachery 
developed  in  my  home  camp.  It  was  so 
smoothly  plotted  that  not  until  long  afterward 
did  I  definitely  connect  Lawson  with  it. 

I  have  once  referred  to  Henry  Hovey  Love. 
He  now  appears  as  the  manager  of  my  clerical 
force  in  the  Boston  office.  Later  he  will 
appear  as  Lawson' s  sixteenth  assistant. 

Love  was  in  Rochester,  New  York,  when  I 
first  knew  him.  He  was  a  stock  salesman, 
showing  promise  of  ability  under  proper  train- 
ing, and  making  a  bare  living.  He  applied  to 
me  for  a  position  and  I  engaged  him  and 
taught  him  the  science  of  salesmanship.  I 
have  always  believed  in  paying  good  salaries — 
in  so  rewarding  the  good  workman  that  he  will 
be  happy  and  contented.  "  The  laborer  is 
worthy  of  his  hire . ' '  Eventually  I  placed  him  in 
charge  of  my  clerical  force  and  gave  him  a 

275 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

contract  by  which  his  earnings  were  based 
upon  the  amount  of  business  done  by  my  office. 
Under  this  contract,  as  the  business  grew,  he 
was  enabled  to  earn  upward  of  ten  thousand 
dollars  a  year — an  increase  of  more  than  eight 
thousand  dollars  over  what  he  had  earned 
before  I  took  him  up. 

I  state  these  rather  personal  matters  merely 
as  a  sidelight  on  human  gratitude — of  some 
men. 

Love  is  a  big,  good-looking  fellow,  with  a 
hearty  manner  that  would  be  bluff  and  attract- 
ive but  for  an  effeminate  voice.  He  was  a 
hustler,  when  he  wanted  to  be,  and  I  trusted 
him.  I  have  no  apologies  to  make  for  that — 
it  is  an  unusual  man  who  is  never  fooled,  and 
he  is  but  one  of  hundreds  whom  I  have 
employed. 

I  was  in  New  York,  as  I  said,  when  Love 
began  an  insidious  campaign  among  my 
lieutenants.  One  by  one  he  took  them  aside — 
out  to  lunch,  or  to  the  theatre,  or  down  on  an 
inspection  trip  of  some  of  the  properties.  To 
each,  guardedly  and  smoothly,  he  broached 
his  subject. 

It  was  too  bad  that  I  had  to  work  so  hard, 
after  having  built  up  so  successful  a  business. 

276 


PROGRESS— AND  AN  INSURRECTION 

Undoubtedly  I  would  like  to  practically  retire, 
if  I  could  be  assured  of  a  continuance  of  a  large 
income.  The  men  who  could  arrange  it  so 
that  I  could  do  so  would  be  true  friends  of 
mine.  Thus  the  conversation  began.  If  there 
was  encouragement,  it  continued  along  some- 
what different  lines.  It  was  unfortunate  that 
I  paid  such  high  salaries.  He  (Love),  if  he 
were  placed  in  charge  of  the  business,  could 
reduce  them  one-half  and  still  secure  the  same 
results.  Again,  it  was  too  bad  that  I  would 
insist  on  quarreling  with  Lawson,  when  there 
was  money  enough  in  the  world  for  Lawson 
and  me  to  get  all  we  needed  without  fighting. 

After  a  time,  the  plan  came  out.  All  the 
heads  of  departments  were  to  unite  and  repre- 
sent to  me  that  the  time  had  come  for  me  to 
take  a  rest.  They  were  to  insist  that  I  turn 
over  my  business  to  a  board  of  governors  with 
Love  at  the  head,  and  take  a  trip  to  Europe  or 
anywhere  else  I  wished,  at  a  salary  of  some- 
thing like  ten  or  twenty  thousand  dollars  a 
year.  They  would  guarantee  to  make  the 
business  pay  me  good  dividends.  All  I  had 
to  do  was  to  let  them  run  it. 

It  struck  me  when  I  learned  of  it  as  the 
craziest  scheme  I  had  ever  heard  of,  and  I 

277 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

cannot  see  it  any  differently  now.  How  Love 
ever  expected  to  make  me  believe  that  it  would 
be  for  my  advantage  to  allow  somebody  else  to 
control  my  business  I  cannot  understand. 
His  plan  involved  getting  every  lieutenant  into 
the  scheme  and  informing  me,  when  the  news 
was  broken,  that  unless  I  accepted  the  idea 
every  man  would  instantly  leave  my  service, 
but  this  was  even  sillier  than  the  rest  of  the 
scheme,  for  he  should  have  known  me  well 
enough  to  realize  that  under  such  a  threat  I 
certainly  should  not  have  acceded  to  his 
suggestion. 

It  is  clear  to  me  now  that  Lawson's  mind 
was  back  of  the  plan,  and  that  it  was  a  rather 
bright  piece  of  tactics,  for  if  by  any  chance  I 
accepted  the  suggestion  he  would  have  me  out 
of  the  way — and  have  his  own  representative 
in  charge  of  the  business  in  my  place — while  if  1 
refused  it  he  would  at  least  have  made  me  a 
lot  of  trouble  and  taken  my  mind  off  his 
prosecution. 

But  Mr.  Love's  brilliant  scheme  never  came 
to  a  head.  He  had  secured  two  or  three 
adherents  and  several  others  had  agreed  with 
him  that,  while  they  would  not  promise  to 
come  in,  they  at  least  would  not  make  the 

278 


PROGRESS— AND  AN  INSURRECTION 

matter  public,  when  he  made  the  mistake  of 
proposing  it  to  an  executive  who  was  abso- 
lutely loyal  to  my  interests. 

When  the  news  of  this  proposed  insurrection 
reached  me  in  New  York,  I  returned  to  Boston 
on  the  next  train.  One  hour  after  my  arrival 
in  the  city  I  demanded  Love's  resignation,  and 
on  his  refusal  made  him  a  stock  salesman  in 
the  territory  west  of  Buffalo,  and  instructed 
him  to  begin  his  new  duties  on  the  following 
morning.  I  could  not  discharge  him,  for  he 
held  a  contract. 

After  a  few  weeks  he  asked  for  a  vacation 
without  pay,  which  was  granted.  He  spent 
the  time  in  Europe.  On  his  return  he 
resumed  his  old  desk,  but  with  no  authority. 
Even  the  cashier  and  bookkeeper  had  been 
instructed  by  me  to  give  him  no  information 
regarding  the  business.  This  went  on  for  a 
month  or  so.  Then,  one  day,  he  inadvertently 
tendered  his  resignation.  I  instantly  accepted 
the  resignation  and  filled  his  place  before  he 
had  a  chance  to  take  back  the  words. 

The  following  week  he  was  in  business  on 
State  Street,  devoting  all  his  energies  to  injur- 
ing my  business.  A  fortnight  later  he  tried 
to  get  one  of  my  employees  to  meet  Mr.  Lav/son, 

279 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

whom  he  said  he  was  acting  for.  He  had 
his  share,  in  a  small  and  rather  disgraceful 
way,  in  the  business  troubles  that  I  have 
passed  through. 

So  much  for  Mr.  Love. 


280 


Chapter  XXVII 
A  RAT  IN  A  TRAP 

THIS  insurrection  did  not  make  a  ripple 
on    the    surface    of    my    office    affairs. 
Not  all  of   my  employees   knew   of  it; 
the  public  has  never  heard   of  it   until   this 

moment. 

The  work  of  gathering  evidence  against 
Lawson  and  preparing  the  case  which  was  to 
be  made  against  him  went  steadily  on.  And 
as  the  days  passed,  it  became  more  and  more 
apparent  that  he  was  caught  like  a  rat  in  a 
trap — and  that  he  knew  it. 

We  made  haste  slowly  in  the  preparation  of 
the  legal  case.  We  intended  to  have  no  mis- 
carriage of  justice.  Slowly  and  surely  the 
evidence  was  pieced  together— the  missing 
links  in  the  chain  supplied— the  hearsay  run 
down  and  made  first-hand— the  documents 
authenticated  and  added  one  to  the  other  .^ 

Lawson  had  stopped  all  his  campaigns 
against  the  investing  public.  He  had  no  time 
to  plot.  At  last  he  was  squarely  on  the  defen- 
sive, with  not  an  ounce  of  attack  left. 

281 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

Wall  and  State  Streets,  which,  although  they 
occasionally  use  him  when  it  suits  their  pur- 
pose, really  hate  him,  saw  their  opportunity, 
and  went  after  him  tooth  and  nail.  In  two 
weeks  after  the  close  of  the  Nevada-Utah  cam- 
paign, they  had  robbed  him  of  two  million  dol- 
lars as  neatly  as  he  had  stolen  it  from  the  pub- 
lic, and  he  was  financially  in  a  bad  way.  There 
was  one  day  in  that  market  battle  when  they 
had  him  wrecked  at  one  o'clock,  and  by  wild, 
desperate  "selling" — he  had  been  "buying" 
all  the  morning — he  succeeded  in  wriggling 
out  of  their  clutches  before  closing  time. 
Three  State  Street  houses  kept  their  clerks  at 
work  all  that  night  to  figure  out  the  Lawson 
balances,  and  it  was  not  until  day  was  break- 
ing that  they  knew  for  certain  whether  or  not 
he  was  a  beggar. 

His  word  had  ceased  to  have  any  weight  with 
the  public.  He  was  despised  and  discredited. 
None  was  so  poor  as  to  do  him  honor. 

The  magazines,  the  newspapers — even  the 
pulpit — were  outspoken  in  execration  of  him 
and  his  methods. 

As  an  illustration  of  the  pulpit's  attitude 
I  quote  a  few  words  from  a  sermon 
preached  by  the  Rev.  Herbert  S.  Johnson  at 

282 


A  RAT  IN  A  TRAP 

the  Warren  Avenue  Baptist  Church,  Boston, 
on  Sunday,  March  17: 

Here  in  Boston — or  in  Philadelphia  or  New  York — I 
do  not  want  to  be  too  accurate — there  is  a  man  who  fre- 
quently uses  the  public  press  for  his  advertisements  in 
which  he  tells  the  people  to  speculate  in  certain  stocks. 

Through  these  advertisements,  men,  women  and  even 
young  girls,  are  induced  to  part  with  their  money.  He 
tells  them  that  the  stocks  are  going  higher  and  higher 
and  induces  them  to  buy.  He  is  the  one  who  sells,  and 
the  money  which  these  deluded  ones  lose  falls  by  the 
hundreds  of  thousands  of  dollars  into  his  coffers. 

Later  it  is  different.  The  women  who  lose  cry — 
women  always  cry.  But  the  man  with  a  wife  and 
family,  who  has  perhaps  lost  his  all,  does  not  cry.  He 
takes  a  walk  down  to  the  wharf,  instead,  and  ends  it  all. 

After  that  his  wife  takes  in  washing  to  pay  the  bills 
of  the  undertaker,  while  Mr.  Somebody  who  has  made 
his  thousands  lives  in  luxury  on  his  ill-gotten  gains. 

Lawson  sought  for  sympathy  and  found  it 
not.  Baffled,  beaten,  with  no  friend  to  even 
speak  a  kind  word,  he  had  come  to  the  end  of 
the  way.  Behind  him  was  the  trail  of  broken 
hearts  and  blasted  hopes;  in  the  present  was 
exposure  and  the  contempt  of  all  mankind; 
before  him  stretched  defeat  and  disgrace. 

Lawrson  was  vanquished.  And,  at  last,  he 
knew  it. 

283 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

But  one  move  remained  to  be  made — the 
final  presentation  of  the  case  against  him 
which  should  stamp  him  and  his  actions  as 
fraudulent  before  all  the  world — and  the 
weapon  was  in  my  hands. 

The  public  enemy  was  down  in  the  dust 
of  the  arena.  The  sword  of  retribution  was 
at  his  throat.  His  desperate,  imploring, 
frightened  eyes  were  fixed  on  the  rows  of 
spectators  filling  the  seats  in  the  world's 
amphitheatre,  while  he  held  up  his  hand  for 
pity.  From  not  one  gazing  eye  did  he  receive 
a  glance  of  sympathy.  Every  man  in  all  the 
vast  body  of  deluded  investors  scowled  back  at 
him  and  held  his  right  arm  rigidly  before  him 
with  the  thumb  down. 

God  knows  I  should  have  thrust  then  and 
there.  I  have  suffered  bitterly  in  purse, 
body  and  mind  because  I  withheld  the  blade. 
And  worse  than  my  sufferings  have  been  those 
of  the  investors  who  have  since  suffered  by 
other  schemes — and  will  suffer  over  and 
over  until  he  has  been  again  vanquished  in  the 
arena  and  the  last  blow  struck,  while  the 
investing  world  joyously  cries,  "  Habet!" 


284 


Chapter  XXVIII 
THE   CRY   FOR   MERCY 

WHAT  is  done,  is  done,  and  there  is 
no  use  in  crying  over  spilled  milk. 
If  I  had  been  accustomed  to 
"play  the  game"  as  they  play  it  in  the  gam- 
bling stock  exchanges,  I  should  have  had 
neither  oity  or  mercy.  I  should  have  removed 
Lawson  as  heartlessly  as  he  would  have 
removed  me  had  he  had  the  chance.  But 
I  have  not  had  that  training.  I  am  naturally 
soft-hearted  and  humane.  And  when  Lawson 
pleaded  for  pity  because  he  was  sick  I  pitied 
him — and  later  paid  the  penalty. 

Twice  I  have  suffered  from  being  merciful. 
The  second  time  was  during  the  Boston-Ely 
publicity  campaign,  which  I  shall  reach  in  its 
due  place  in  this  book.  Perhaps  I  shall  suffer 
a  third  time — but  it  will  not  be  in  dealing  with 
Lawson,  or  any  of  his  minions. 

The  proceedings  against  Lawson  were  on 
the  eve  of  being  brought.  There  could  be  no 
doubt  of  their  success.  Then,  one  morning 
early,  when  I  had  been  in  my  office  but  ten  or 

285 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

fifteen  minutes,  the  private  secretary  to  the 
Mayor  was  announced. 

"Good  morning,  Mr.  King,"  he  said. 
16  Mayor  Fitzgerald  asked  me  to  step  over  and 
give  you  a  message.' ' 

I  motioned  toward  a  seat. 

"I  have  no  time,  thank  you,"  he  said. 
"The  Mayor  has  just  this  morning  returned 
from  New  York  and  is  now  at  his  home,  having 
his  breakfast.  He  telephoned  me  and  asked 
me  to  come  over  here  right  away  and  make 
an  appointment  for  him  to  see  you  on  a  matter 
of  great  importance.  He  would  like  to  see 
you  at  once,  with  as  little  ceremony  as  possible." 

"Tell  him  I'll  be  glad  to  see  him  at  any 
time,"  1  said.  "If  he  will  come  here  I  will 
leave  orders  for  him  to  be  shown  right  in." 

"Thank  you,"  said  the  secretary.  "I'll 
telephone  when  he  is  coming.  I  think  he  will 
be  over  as  soon  as  he  arrives  at  City  Hall." 

The  secretary  had  scarcely  left — he  could 
not  have  been  out  of  the  building — when  a 
clerk  informed  me  that  Mayor  Fitzgerald 
wished  to  speak  to  me  on  the  telephone. 

"Hello,  King,"  said  the  Mayor's  voice.  "I 
want  to  see  you — right  away — on  a  matter 
of  importance." 

286 


THE   CRY   FOR   MERCY 

It  must  be  of  importance,  I  thought,  to  call 
for  so  much  haste  and  for  the  efforts  of  both 
the  Mayor  and  his  secretary.  'Your  secre- 
tary just  called,"  I  said,  "and  I  told  him  I 
would  be  glad  to  see  you  at  any  time." 

"All  right,"  replied  the  Mayor.  "I'll  be 
right  there.  See  that  I  get  in  without  waiting, 
will  you?" 

"Certainly,"  I  said.  "How  long  before 
you'll  be  here?" 

"Just  as  soon  as  I  can  get  there." 

Mayor  Fitzgerald  arrived  in  less  than  a  half 
hour.  His  manner  was  grave  and  earnest. 
It  was  instantly  apparent  that  what  he  had  to 
communicate  was  either  very  important  or  he 
believed  it  to  be  so. 

Taking  a  seat,  he  went  at  his  subject  with- 
out preliminaries. 

"I  was  over  in  Young's  Hotel,  King,"  he 
said,  "  and  I  happened  to  run  into  Tom  Law- 
son.  We  got  to  talking  and  the  talk  turned  on 
his  fight  with  you.  I  told  him  he  was  a  fool  to 
attack  you  the  way  he  has — that  he  must 
expect  to  lose  more  than  he  could  gain. 
Lawson  said  many  of  his  friends  had  told  him 
the  same  thing — that  maybe  he  was  a  fool. " 

The  Mayor  leaned  over  my  desk  earnestly. 

287 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

"Now,  King,"  he  said,  "I'm  the  bearer  of  an 
olive  branch.  Let's  patch  up  a  truce  between 
you  and  Laws  on.  Boston  is  a  big  city — big 
enough  for  both  of  you  to  live  in.  I'm  a 
friend  of  both  of  you,  and  I  want  to  see  you 
both  get  along.  I  want  to  see  you  prosperous 
and  I  want  to  see  Lawson  prosperous.  Your 
fight  has  gone  far  enough.  You  ought  to  be 
satisfied.     You've  got  all  the  best  of  it  now." 

"It  isn't  a  personal  fight  between  Lawson 
and  me,  "  I  said.     "You  know  that." 

"Whatever  it  is,  it  has  hurt  you  both." 

"  I'm  not  so  sure  of  that.  I  don't  believe  it 
has  hurt  me,  except  that  it  has  taken  my  mind 
off  my  business  at  times  when  the  business 
needed  all  my  attention." 

"That's  bad  enough,"  urged  Fitzgerald. 
"That's  bad  for  any  business." 

"I'm  sorry,  but  it's  too  late,"  I  said.  "I 
can't  make  peace  with  Lawson  on  any  terms." 

"Don't  say  that,"  pleaded  the  Mayor. 
"Now  look  here.  I  tried  to  get  you  two 
together  once  before,  and  I  thought  I  had  got 
somewhere,  but  it  broke  out  again.  To-day 
things  are  different.  Then  Lawson  was  get- 
ting after  you  and  your  stocks  hard.  He  isn't 
saying  a  word  now." 

288 


THE  CRY  FOR  MERCY 

"That  isn't  because  he  doesn't  want  to," 
I  laughed.     "  It's  because,  as  you  say  he  told 
you,  he  knows  he's  been  a  fool  and  is  danger- 
ously near  paying  the  penalty." 
Did  you  know  Lawson  is  sick?" 
Why,  no." 

"He  is.  He's  a  sick  man.  Nothing  or- 
ganic, or  anything  of  that  sort,  but  worn  out. 
He  wants  a  rest.  He  wants  to  go  abroad.  He 
needs  the  vacation.  And  he  can't  stir  so  long 
as  you  have  these  proceedings  of  yours  hanging 
over  him.  People  would  think  he  was  running 
away.  Besides,  he  needs  to  stay  to  look  out 
for  his  fences.  He  doesn't  dare  go  away, 
naturally,  and  leave  you  in  a  position  to  take  a 
crack  at  him  whenever  you  feel  like  it." 

I  persisted  that  I  could  not  come  to  any 
understanding.  The  Mayor  as  earnestly  per- 
sisted that  I  could  afford,  holding  the  whip 
hand,  to  make  a  truce  that  would  last  until 
Lawson  returned  from  Europe.  "And  if  it 
lasts  that  long  there  isn't  any  reason  why  it 
shouldn't  last  forever,"  he  added.  "Let  it 
stand  until  he  gives  you  notice  that  it  is  over." 

Mayor  Fitzgerald  was  eloquent  in  por- 
traying Lawson' s  need  for  rest  and  recreation 
abroad — he    believed    Lawson    was    tired    of 

289 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

"the  game"  and  would  not  lay  himself  open  to 
criticism  after  he  came  home.  For  twenty 
minutes  or  a  half -hour  we  argued.  Finally  I 
said : 

"  Mr.  Mayor,  I'm  going  to  take  your  advice 
to  this  extent:  I've  had  the  last  say.  I've 
rolled  Tom  Lawson  from  Dan  to  Beersheba. 
I  have  put  in  cold  type  just  what  I  think  of  him 
and  his  methods  to  the  tune  of  seven  pages  of 
the  Boston  Daily  Tribune  and  King's  Finan- 
cial Bulletin.  If  he's  got  enough,  and  you  give 
me  your  personal  word  that  he  will  make  no 
more  sewer-pipe  manoeuvres,  you  can  say  to  him 
that  I'll  hold  my  hands  and  not  do  anything 
further  to  him — with  the  understanding  that 
if  he  ever  desires  to  renew  the  fight  he'll  give 
me  good  and  sufficient  notice." 

"I  can  promise  that,  King,"  said  the  Mayor. 

"You  must  understand  clearly  that  I  reserve 
the  right  to  criticise  anything  he  does  that  I 
regard  as  illegitimate.  The  only  way  Lawson 
can  maintain  a  permanent  truce  with  me  is  to 
go  straight." 

"I  think  you  can  be  assured  that  he  won't 
do  anything  of  that  sort  any  more." 

I  showed  Mayor  Fitzgerald  a  whole  drawer- 
ful  of  evidence.     "That,"  I  said,  "is  on  the 

290 


THE  CRY  FOR  MERCY 

eve   of   going   before   the   proper   authorities. 
You  came  just  in  time.'' 

"I'm  glad  of  that,"  said  the  Mayor,  "for 
you  and  Lawson  are  both  good  fellows,  and  I 
don't  want  to  see  either  of  you  injured." 

"It  is  understood,  then,"  I  recapitulated, 
"that  I  am  to  do  nothing  to  Lawson  while  he 
is  in  Europe,  getting  his  health  back,  and  that 
when  he  returns,  if  he  wishes  any  more  fight 
with  me  he  will  give  me  notice  before  he  makes 
a  move,  while  I  reserve  the  right  to  criticise 
him  if  he  makes  any  more  crooked  pro- 
motions." 

"Right,"  replied  Fitzgerald.  "But  you 
may  rest  assured  that  there  will  be  no  more 
of  that  on  his  part." 

The  Mayor  left  my  office  to  tell  Lawson  the 
result  of  his  appeal. 


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Chapter  XXIX 
PEACE 

I  AT  once  called  a  halt  on  the  pro- 
ceedings against  Lawson,  much  to  the 
disgust  of  those  having  them  in  charge, 
and  against  the  advice  of  a  number  of  my 
best  lieutenants,  who  were  not  aware  of  the 
Fitzgerald  interview  but  knew  I  had  been 
assured  by  some  one  or  other  that  Lawson 
intended  to  go  and  sin  no  more.  Lawson 
sailed  for  Europe. 

In  every  respect  I  kept  absolute  faith  with 
Mayor  Fitzgerald.  I  made  no  mention  of 
Lawson  or  his  properties  in  his  absence.  I 
did  not  attack  them  in  my  newspapers.  I  did 
not  refer  to  them  in  my  letters  to  investors. 

As  an  evidence  to  Lawson  of  my  changed 
attitude  and  as  some  explanation  to  the  public 
of  the  sudden  cessation  of  criticism  of  him  in 
the  columns  of  the  Boston  Daily  Tribune,  I 
wrote  the  following  editorial  for  that  paper 
under  the  caption,  "A  Word  with  Mr.  Law- 
son."  It  appeared  in  the  issue  of  April  5, 
1907. 

292 


PEACE 

Thomas  W.  Lawson,  of  Boston,  has  announced  in 
the  advertising  columns  of  the  newspapers  of  Boston 
that  he  proposes  at  a  very  early  date  to  sail  the  ocean 
blue.     He  is  going  to  Europe. 

He  states  in  his  public  advertisements  that  he  is  going 
for  the  purpose  of  personally  looking  over  the  foreign 
copper  situation.  However  that  may  be,  he  is  going 
away.  The  Tribune  accepts  as  a  fact  his  statement  in 
the  matter  and  takes  this  occasion  to  bid  him  bon 
voyage. 

Other  men  from  time  to  time  have  paused  'mid  the 
pressing  activities  of  daily  toil  and  sailed  away  to 
Europe,  and  so  why  not  Mr.  Lawson  ?  Other  men  have 
let  fall  the  reins  from  their  financial  steeds  and  per- 
mitted the  animals  to  go  out  to  pasture  alone  and  un- 
attended, while  they  themselves  have  sojourned  under 
foreign  skies.     Why  not  Mr.  Lawson  ? 

True,  it  may  be  said  of  him  that  he  has  many  irons  in 
the  fire  which  perhaps  need  a  muscular  hand  at  the 
bellows  to  keep  them  at  proper  heat,  but,  after  all,  when 
a  man  once  believes  that  he  can  cut  loose  from  his  work, 
he  can  generally  do  it  with  little  or  no  damage  to  that 
work  and  with  infinite  benefit  to  himself. 

And  so  the  Tribune  takes  this  occasion  to  extend  to 
Mr.  Lawson  renewed  assurances  of  its  most  distin- 
guished consideration,  and  to  wish  for  him  a  smooth 
sailing  to  the  shores  of  the  old  world. 

In  spite  of  all  that  may  have  been  said  and  printed 
to  the  contrary,  the  Tribune  entertains  a  special,  peculiar 
admiration  for  Mr.  Lawson.  It  may  not  entertain  for 
him  the  fondness  from  which  the  eternal   spring  of 

293 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

never-dying  love  flows,  but  it  has  an  admiration  for  him 
nevertheless.  It  finds  in  him  many  qualities  that  go  to 
the  making  of  a  man.  He  is  tireless,  energetic  and  of 
keen  abilities;  shrewd  in  his  judgment  of  human  beings. 
He  is  a  man  of  action,  a  man  who  has  done  things,  not 
the  things  that  the  Tribune  would  have  done  or  that  it 
can  endorse — but  when  all  has  been  said  it  must  be 
admitted  he  has  done  things — that  he  is  a  doer  of  things. 

There  have  been  times  when  the  Tribune  has  failed  to 
agree  with  Mr.  Lawson  in  the  things  which  he  has  done, 
and  in  its  own  way  has  pointed  out  where  it  felt  that  the 
things  done  should  not  have  been  done.  In  other  words, 
on  occasion,  the  Tribune  has  differed  with  Mr.  Lawson. 
Despite,  however,  the  elements  of  error  that  have  crept 
into  his  accomplishments,  he  has  within  him,  it  must  be 
admitted,  the  making  of  a  powerful  factor  in  the  financial 
world.  And  behold,  the  opportunity  for  his  trans- 
formation is  now  at  hand. 

Therefore,  realizing  that  this  opportunity  is  upon  him, 
the  Tribune  desires  to  invite  Mr.  Lawson  to  sit  down 
calmly  in  his  chimney  corner  and  commune  as  brother 
to  brother,  from  heart  to  heart. 

In  extending  to  Mr.  Lawson  this  invitation  to  sit  by 
and  listen  while  we  talk,  and  to  commune  with  us,  we 
cast  aside  all  bitterness  and  rancor  as  a  result  of  any- 
thing which  has  been  heretofore  written  or  said.  We 
ask  Mr.  Lawson  to  accept  our  intent  to  bestow  upon  him 
that  kindly  portion  of  salutary  advice  that  shall  turn  the 
current  of  his  life  into  better  channels  and  bring  him  at 
last  into  that  blessed  state  where  he  may  say,  "  I  have 
fought  a  good  fight — I  have  kept  the  faith. " 

294 


PEACE 

Old  ocean  is  a  wonderful  leveler  of  men,  Mr.  Lawson 
— a  marvelous  tonic  for  a  wearied  soul — an  unequaled 
teacher  of  the  mind  that  will  dwell  upon  its  vast  impress- 
iveness.  Countless  men  have  found  in  the  majesty  of 
its  teachings  the  true  value  of  the  better  things  of  life. 

So,  when  in  a  few  days  the  gangplank  has  been 
withdrawn  and  the  great  ship  upon  which  you  are  to  be 
such  a  tiny  speck  of  humanity  swings  down  the  channel 
and  on  into  the  mighty  expanse  of  waters ;  when  the  deck 
chairs  have  been  arranged;  when  your  greatcoat,  lined 
with  the  fleece  of  so  many  lambs,  has  been  wrapped 
around  you,  your  cap  pulled  down  over  your  head  and 
your  steamer  rug  affixed  where  it  will  do  the  most  good, 
then,  Mr.  Lawson,  is  the  time  for  the  great  awakening. 

You  will  find  wonderful  opportunities  to  commune 
with  your  own  soul  and  mind  aboard  ship.  It  is  a  great 
chance.  As  days  succeed  one  another  and  you  sit 
entranced  'mid  the  vast  deep  and  the  Great  Power  that 
keeps  it  forever  in  place,  take  from  your  pocket  pad  and 
pencil,  and,  as  tli3  ship  glides  on  over  the  ocean,  write 
down  your  new  inspirations  and  the  finer  thoughts  which 
are  sure  to  come  to  you.  Look  back,  if  you  will,  over 
the  tossing  waters  to  this  restless,  growing  country  of  the 
new  world,  and  reflect  that  in  this  land  there  still 
seethes  the  hot  activity  of  speculation  and  manipulation 
of  corporation  securities.  Reflect  that  in  Boston  and 
New  York  there  still  rage  wrangling,  nervous  men 
around  the  poles  in  stock  exchanges. 

Then  heave  a  sigh  and  thank  Providence  that  for 
a  brief  period  at  least  you  are  no  longer  of  that 
feverish  throng  of  men,  ever  intent  upon  the  financial 

295 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

slaughter  of  their  fellows,  and  ask  yourself  out  there 
under  the  canopy  of  God's  blue  sky  what  it  is  all  worth. 

When  you  reach  the  other  side,  Mr.  Lawson,  and 
travel  through  the  leafy  lanes  of  verdant  England; 
when  you  see  the  picturesque  chalets  of  beautiful 
France;  when  you  glide  down  the  historic  and  entranc- 
ing Rhine;  when  you  gaze  with  rapture  upon  the  Alps, 
the  lofty  peaks  of  which,  in  the  language  of  the  late  and 
lamented  William  W.  White,  "point  to  the  great  blue," 
you  will  be  impressed  as  you  have  never  perhaps  been 
impressed  before.  The  peaks  of  the  Alps  you  will  re- 
gard as  fingers  of  the  Creator  pointing  the  way  to  a  loftier 
and  higher  conception  of  life,  its  ideals  and  respon- 
sibilities. 

'Mid  the  shady  lanes  and  restful  valleys  and  wooded 
dales  of  England  and  France,  'mid  the  old  windmills  of 
Holland,  you  will  find  the  nooks  and  corners  in  which 
to  hide  away  for  a  season  and  commune  uninterruptedly 
with  your  own  soul  and  mind.  You  will  be  free  from 
telephone  calls,  from  anxious  inquirers  about  the  doings 
of  the  stock  market.  You  will  find  opportunities  to 
steal  away  and  sit  down  all  by  yourself  where  you  can 
listen  to  the  rustle  of  the  leaves  of  the  trees,  to  the  sing- 
ing of  birds — and  you  can  figure  it  all  out.  You  can 
go  upon  the  stand  and  be  your  own  cross-examiner. 
You  can  ask  yourself  questions  and  figure  out  for  your- 
self the  correct  answer. 

In  such  scenes  of  beauty  and  suggestiveness,  cut 
yourself  away  from  all  knowledge  and  all  thought  of  the 
busy  world  of  stocks  in  far  distant  Boston,  and  again 
ask  your  own  heart  and  soul  if  the  struggle  to  acquire 

£96 


PEACE 

wealth  with  which  to  build  and  incorporate  "Dream- 
wold"  at  the  expense  of  conscience  and  the  public  is 
really  worth  while. 

Then,  when  your  day  of  mingled  play  and  self- 
examination  is  over  come  back  to  us  once  more,  Mr. 
Lawson.  Retrace  your  steps  and  again  sail  the  seas. 
Come  back  to  Boston  town.  Come  back  a  new  Lawson 
— the  Lawson  of  old.  Come  back  with  new  color  in 
your  cheeks,  with  red  blood  in  your  veins.  Come  back 
with  your  faculties  refreshed,  with  new  life,  new  am- 
bition, new  ideals,  new  hopes.  Come  back  the  Lawson 
that  was.  Come  back  the  Lawson  that  should  be. 
Come  back  with  a  God -given  determination  that  no 
more  shall  your  name  be  lent  to  things  of  which  it  can- 
not be  said,  "All  is  fair  and  square."  Come  back  to 
uplift  and  upbuild,  determined  to  apply  your  splendid 
talents  to  constructive  rather  than  destructive  work. 

Should  you  come  back  to  us,  Mr.  Lawson,  a  changed 
and  better  man,  you  will  be  appreciated,  of  that  have  no 
fear.  The  Tribune  will  hold  it  as  its  solemn  duty  to  be 
the  first  to  discover  and  proclaim  loudly  the  trans- 
formation which  may  come  over  you. 

This  is  what  your  European  trip  may  accomplish  for 
you,  Mr.  Lawson,  and  by  all  the  powers  of  earth  and 
water  the  Tribune  hopes  and  trusts  that  the  result  may  be 
what  our  fancy  paints. 

The  experiment  is  really  worth  making. 

Lawson  sailed  for  Europe.  I  filed  away 
the  masses  of  evidence  against  him.  Peace 
reigned. 

297 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

On  Lawson's  return  I  naturally  wished  to 
learn  at  once  what  were  his  intentions.  Mayor 
Fitzgerald  was  ill.  I  therefore  called  on  the 
telephone  Mr.  Henry  B.  Humphrey,  Lawson's 
advertising  agent  and  therefore  his  closest 
lieutenant  in  his  publicity  campaigns.  I  asked 
Mr.  Humphrey  to  call  at  my  office  and  he  came 
at  once.     He  and  I  are  old  acquaintances. 

I  recounted  to  him  the  substance  of  the 
agreement  that  I  had  made,  and  requested 
that  he  get  in  immediate  touch  with  Lawson 
and  ascertain  what  he  wished  to  do. 

"You  know — you  have  been  here  all  the 
time — that  I  have  kept  my  end  of  the  agree- 
ment to  the  letter, "  I  said.  "  It  is  now  due  me, 
according  to  the  terms  of  the  understanding, 
that  Mr.  Lawson  tell  me  whether  or  not  he 
wants  any  further  argument.  He  can  have 
his  choice.  Either  the  truce  is  off,  and  I  shall 
get  busy  at  once  along  the  lines  that  were  inter- 
rupted when  he  wished  to  go  away,  or  it  con- 
tinues and  I  shall  say  nothing  against  him  un- 
less he  does  something  new  to  call  for  criti- 
cism. I  am  ready  for  either.  If  it  is  fight,  I 
am  prepared  to  go  to  the  last  ditch;  if  it  is 
peace,  it  depends  on  him  alone  whether  the 
peace  shall  ever  be  broken." 

298 


PEACE 

A  day  or  so  later  Mr.  Humphrey  called  on 
me. 

"I  saw  Mr.  Lawson,"  he  said,  "and  gave 
him  your  message.  He  asked  me  to  assure 
you  that  he  appreciates  your  position  in  wish- 
ing to  know  whether  or  not  the  old  difficulty 
is  to  be  kept  up.  He  wishes  me  to  say  that  he 
has  no  desire  to  renew  the  trouble  of  last 
spring.  As  evidence  of  that,  he  asked  me  to 
remind  you  that  he  has  neither  said  nor  done 
anything,  publicly  or  privately,  to  injure  you 
since  his  return.  And  he  authorizes  me  to 
assure  you  that  he  will  not." 

"  Then  you  may  say  to  him  that  I  shall  keep 
my  word  and  do  nothing  to  injure  him  on 
account  of  what  is  past.  The  future  is  in  his 
hands." 

"I'll  do  so  the  next  time  I  see  him,"  said 
Mr.  Humphrey. 

I  kept  my  word.  Lawson  also  kept  his — 
for  two  or  three  months.  Then,  when  I  had 
suffered  severe  losses  due  to  the  financial 
panic  and  had  been  obliged  to  cease  the  publi- 
cation of  my  daily  newspaper,  he  broke  it  as 
coldly,  heartlessly  and  brutally  as — as  I  might 
have  known  he  would. 

In  war  the  spy,  although  he  is  hanged,  is 

299 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

respected  as  the  agent  of  the  enemy  taking 
desperate  chances  for  his  flag.  But  he  who 
violates  the  flag  of  truce  is  killed  without 
benefit  of  clergy,  for  he  is  rightfully  deemed  the 
most  despicable  of  cowards. 


300 


Chapter  XXX 
GATHERING  THUNDER  CLOUDS 

I  KNOW  now  that  all  through  that 
summer  Lawson  was  quietly  laying  his 
plans  to  attack  me  should  he  ever  be- 
come strong  enough  and  I  weak  enough,  again, 
to  give  him  any  prospect  of  success. .  I  know 
now  that  among  the  mistakes  I  have  made  in 
the  course  of  a  busy  life — and  who  has  not 
made  mistakes  who  has  done  things  at  all  ? — 
none  was  so  fatal  as  showing  mercy  to  Lawson 
when  I  had  it  in  my  power  to  crush  him. 

Yet,  looking  back  across  the  sixteen  months 
that  have  passed  since  that  momentous  agree- 
ment made  with  Mayor  Fitzgerald,  it  does  not 
seem  at  all  strange  to  me  that  I  did  it.  My 
action  was  in  no  moment  of  weakness.  My 
mistake  was  not  in  the  judgment  of  a  situation, 
but  in  my  judgment  of  a  man. 

I  believed  Lawson's  word,  at  such  a  time, 
could  be  depended  upon.  I  believed  he  was 
sincere  when  he  said  he  would  go  and  sin  no 
more.  I  believed  he  had  really  become 
wearied  of  his  life  of  brutal  market-rigging  and 

301 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

was  ready  to  cease  his  vicious  campaigns 
against  the  public.  I  believed,  in  a  word,  that 
the  investors  of  the  country  were  now  safe  from 
him — they  had  won  their  fight  at  last.  And 
as  I  had  nothing  personal  against  Lawson — as 
I  had  so  strenuously  fought  not  Lawson  the 
man,  but  the  wicked  practices  of  which  Lawson 
the  speculator  was  the  incarnation — as  my 
duty  was  finished  when  the  danger  from  him 
was  past — so  I  was  willing  to  allow  him  to  go 
his  way,  if  only  it  was  an  honest  way,  without 
further  punishment  or  molestation. 

I  had  triumphed.  There  can  be  no  question 
about  that  in  the  mind  of  any  investor  who  con- 
siders the  facts.  Lawson's  campaigns  ceased, 
and  did  not  begin  again  until  he  had  succeeded 
in  so  crippling  me  financially  that  I  was  unable 
to  raise  my  voice  against  him  as  effectively  as 
of  old.  The  lesser  fry  of  the  Wolf-Pack,  awed 
at  the  sight  of  their  Leader  vanquished  and 
silent,  also  ceased  their  depredations. 

From  one  end  of  the  country  to  the  other 
there  was  a  noticeable  lessening  of  swindling 
operations  in  the  stock  markets.  The  crooks 
and  thugs,  stunned  and  frightened,  dared  not 
carry  on  their  operations  boldly — and  there 
is  little  danger  to  the  public  when  they  carry 

302 


GATHERING  THUNDER  CLOUDS 

them  on  in  secret.  The  investors  of  the  coun- 
try enjoyed  a  degree  of  security  which  for 
years  they  had  not  possessed.  It  was  peace, 
but  it  was  the  peace  of  victory — a  peace  with 
honor. 

Summer  came  and  went — a  peaceful 
summer.  Toward  the  end  of  it,  however, 
there  began  to  gather  on  the  business  horizon 
angry  clouds  that  portended  a  coming  storm. 
As  the  autumn  days  came  on,  the  cloud  grew 
and  spread,  but  it  still  seemed  low  down  on  the 
horizon,  and  many  a  business  man  either  did 
not  see  it  or  affected  not  to  consider  it  dan- 
gerous. 

For  years  I  had  been  giving  voice  with  all 
the  energy  of  which  I  was  capable  to  warnings 
of  just  this  storm.  I  had  pointed  out  that 
nothing  less  than  panic,  depression  and  bitter 
trouble  could  logically  follow  the  practices 
that  had  come  to  be  regarded  as  proper  in  the 
stock  market  and  the  world  of  speculation. 
For  a  long  time  no  one  had  seemed  to  listen. 
Then  had  come  the  period  when  my  words 
found  listeners  and  believers.  I  am  glad  to- 
day that  millions  upon  millions  of  dollars  were 
undoubtedly  saved  to  the  investors  who  had 
listened  to  my  warnings  and  at  the  moment 

303 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

of  the  crash  were  free  and  clear  of  danger. 

Among  the  leaders  of  finance,  however, 
there  were  few  who  credited  me  or  agreed  with 
me.  After  the  smash  had  come  it  was  a 
melancholy  pleasure  to  me  to  read  the  words 
of  many  who  in  times  gone  by  had  called  me  a 
"sensationalist,"  repeating  my  own  words  of 
long  before  in  explaining  the  causes  of  the 
panic. 

"Due  to  bad  methods  by  bad  men,"  said 
the  great  J.  Pierpont  Morgan,  after  the  panic 
had  come.  Many  a  time  I  had  used  those 
identical  words  in  predicting  the  panic  as 
unavoidable.  Differing  from  Mr.  Morgan,  I 
said  it  months  before  the  panic. 

I  had  not  been  free  from  business  cares 
during  this  summer.  On  the  contrary,  I  had 
suffered  a  serious  shrinkage  of  my  resources  in 
connection  with  my  newspaper,  the  Boston 
Daily  Tribune,  which  had  cost  me,  up  to  the 
middle  of  October,  a  sum  approximating  a 
quarter  of  a  million  dollars.  This  had  not 
caused  me  serious  wrorry,  for  a  great  expense 
is  inseparable  from  the  inauguration  of  a  big 
daily  newspaper.  I  had  the  best  staff  in  the 
city  of  Boston — I  was  publishing  a  newspaper 
that  was  attracting  attention  and  gaining  in 

304 


GATHERING  THUNDER  CLOUDS 

circulation  by  leaps  and  bounds — I  felt  certain 
that  a  few  months  more  would  see  a  balance 
on  the  right  side  of  the  ledger.  This  would 
have  been  the  case,  I  am  sure,  had  it  not  been 
for  the  panic  and  the  resulting  falling  off  of  all 
business.  For,  although  I  had  predicted  a 
crash  in  the  stock  market  as  inevitable,  I 
neither  expected  it  so  soon,  nor  did  I  believe  it 
would  have  the  far-reaching  effect  upon  the 
country's  business  that  it  did  have. 

On  October  18  I  left  Boston  for  New  York, 
accompanied  by  one  of  my  executives,  with 
the  purpose  of  devoting  a  day  or  two  to  busi- 
ness in  that  city  and  two  or  three  days  to 
relaxation  and  recreation. 

Some  time  before  I  had  donated  to  St. 
John's  Military  School,  at  Manlius,  New  York, 
the  necessary  funds  for  a  building  to  be  known 
as  "The  C.  F.  King  Lyceum."  This  I  had 
done  in  appreciation  of  the  admirable  school 
itself  and  its  able  and  conscientious  heads. 
My  two  eldest  boys  were  students  at  the  school 
and  I  was  familiar  with  the  high  character  of 
the  institution  and  interested  in  its  progress. 
This  building — a  handsome  structure  devoted 
to  recreation — was  now  finished.  It  was  to  be 
informally    dedicated    on    Monday    evening, 

305 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

October  21,  and  I  had  been  invited  to  be 
present. 

Arriving  in  New  York  City  on  Friday 
evening,  I  devoted  the  early  hours  of  Saturday 
to  business.  The  clouds  were  still  in  the  sky, 
but  they  seemed  no  more  portentous  than  they 
had  been  for  a  month  or  more.  There  was  no 
indication  to  me  that  the  tempest  was  im- 
minent. I  entered  my  automobile  at  a  little 
before  noon  on  Saturday  with  a  feeling  of 
relief  at  leaving  the  cares  of  business  behind  for 
a  day  or  so. 

The  annual  football  game  between  West 
Point  and  Yale  was  scheduled  for  that  after- 
noon at  West  Point,  and  a  number  of  the  cadet 
officers  from  St.  John's  School — including  my 
oldest  son,  C.  F.  King,  Jr. — were  guests  at  the 
National  Military  Academy  on  the  Hudson. 
With  a  beautiful  autumn  day,  a  fast  touring 
car  and  a  good  chauffeur,  we  enjoyed  every 
minute  of  the  trip  from  New  York  City  to  West 
Point.  We  arrived  in  time  for  the  game, 
which  was  a  remarkably  good  one,  and  were 
entertained  delightfully  by  West  Point  gradu- 
ates of  my  acquaintances.  As  the  shades  of 
night  were  falling  we  entered  the  car  again  and 
resumed  our  journey. 

306 


GATHERING  THUNDER  CLOUDS 

On  Sunday  we  were  in  Syracuse.  The 
New  York  morning  papers  contained  a  piece 
of  disquieting  news — the  difficulties  of  the 
Thomases  of  New  York,  and  the  possibility 
that  banks  in  which  they  had  an  interest 
might  eventually  be  affected.  Yet,  even 
then,  nobody  realized  how  near  the  panic 
was.  I  must  confess  that  I  was  nearly  as 
much  interested  at  reading,  in  the  Boston 
morning  papers,  the  account  of  a  political 
rally  in  Boston  at  which  Joseph  A.  Dennison, 
ex-assistant  District  Attorney  of  Suffolk  County 
and  now  a  candidate  for  District  Attorney 
against  John  B.  Moran,  had  made  reference 
to  Thomas  W.  Lawson  in  a  most  interesting- 
way. 

I  read  the  reports  of  the  speech  with  a  great 
deal  of  interest.  I  had  no  personal  acquaint- 
ance with  either  Mr.  Moran  or  Mr.  Dennison 
— or,  for  that  matter,  with  Lawson — but  to  one 
who  had  concentrated  his  thoughts  on  Lawson 
and  his  methods  as  much  as  I  this  matter  could 
not  but  be  absorbing.  I  smiled  and  made  a 
joking  remark  about  the  matter.  I  little 
thought  how  far  removed  from  jocularity  would 
be  my  thoughts  the  next  time  the  coupling  of 
these  names  should  be  brought  to  my  attention. 

307 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

The  incident  which  gave  rise  to  columns  of 
type  in  the  Boston  newspapers  on  that  Sunday 
morning  will,  I  believe,  interest  every  reader 
of  this  book. 

To  understand  it,  the  reader  unfamiliar 
with  Massachusetts  politics  should  be  told 
that  in  1906  Mr.  Moran  was  the  Democratic 
candidate  for  Governor.  He  was  then  District 
Attorney  of  Suffolk  County,  which  office  he 
continued  to  hold  through  the  campaign  and 
after  his  defeat.  In  the  following  fall — 1907 — 
he  ran  for  re-election  as  District  Attorney. 
Mr.  Dennison,  who  had  formerly  been  his 
assistant  but  had  quarreled  with  him,  was  his 
opponent. 

On  October  1,  1907,  about  three  weeks  be- 
fore my  visit  to  Syracuse,  Mr.  Moran  had 
printed  in  the  Boston  newspapers  an  advertise- 
ment in  the  form  of  an  open  letter  to  Henry  M. 
Whitney,  the  Democratic  candidate  for  Gov- 
ernor, in  which  he  had  referred  to  his  own 
campaign  the  year  before,  and  his  claim  that  he 
had  not  accepted  money  from  any  source 
whatever  with  which  to  prosecute  it.  In  the 
course  of  this  advertisement  Mr.  Moran  said: 

"Some  six  or  seven  days  before  election  day,  which 
took  place  in  November,  1906,  Mr.  Lawson  called  on 

308 


GATHERING  THUNDER  CLOUDS 

ine  at  my  room  in  the  Quincy  House,  found  me  in  bed, 
and  seating  himself  upon  the  side  of  the  bed,  he  said, 
1  Moran,  I  have  heard  that  your  campaign  committee  is 
short  of  money.  I  have  three  or  four  thousand  dollars 
in  cash  in  my  pocket  which  I  will  be  glad  to  give  to 
your  committee  now  if  you  will  allow  me  to.'  I 
thanked  him  for  his  willingness  but  told  him  that  I  must 
adhere  to  the  position  which  I  took  in  my  published 
letter  of  October  14." 

On  Friday,  October  18,  before  I  left  Boston 
for  my  brief  combination  of  business  trip  and 
holiday,  I  read  in  the  morning  papers  a  speech 
made  the  night  before  by  Mr.  Dennison,  in 
the  course  of  which,  holding  in  his  hand  the 
advertisement  just  quoted,  he  said: 

"  Here  is  a  newspaper  advertisement  in  which  Moran 
cites  that  Lawson  came  to  him  and  offered  him  several 
thousand  dollars  toward  his  campaign.  Moran  de- 
ceived the  public,  or  tried  to,  by  proclaiming  that  he 
refused  to  accept  any  pecuniary  assistance  from  Lawson 
or  anybody  else,  but  I  stand  ready  to  offer  proof  when- 
ever it  is  demanded  that  he  not  only  accepted  thousands 
of  dollars  from  Lawson,  but  from  others  as  well." 

On  the  following  day — so  it  appeared  from 
the  Boston  newspapers  which  I  read  with 
interest  there  in  Syracuse — Mr.  Moran  an- 
swered Mr.  Dennison's  charge  as  follows: 

309 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

"  I  am  charged  with  having  received  money  from  Mr. 
Lawson  and  others  as  campaign  contributions.  This 
charge  is  false.  I  never  received  or  accepted  any 
campaign  contributions;  I  have,  however,  when  I 
needed  money  for  any  purpose,  borrowed  from  my 
friends  and  from  insurance  companies  in  which  my  life 
is  insured.  Some  of  this  I  have  repaid  and  some  I  still 
owe.  Timothy  W.  Coakley  is  one  of  those  from  whom 
I  accepted  a  loan.  Mr.  Lawson  is  one  of  those  friends, 
and  I  experience  no  sense  of  humiliation  in  so  stating. 
When  he  offered  me  contributions  for  campaign  pur- 
poses I  declined  to  accept  them.  When  I  asked  him  to 
lend  me  money  he  never  refused  to  lend  it  to  me." 

On  Saturday  night,  at  a  big  rally,  Mr. 
Dennison  had  replied  to  this  statement  in  the 
following  words : 

"I  have  made  against  the  present  District  Attorney 
the  most  grave  and  serious  charge  which  can  be  brought 
against  a  public  servant. 

"For  years  Massachusetts  has  struggled  to  put  her- 
self in  the  forefront  of  those  commonwealths  which  have 
led  the  way  to  pure  elections.  She  has  passed  statutes, 
scrupulous  in  detail,  making  it  a  crime  to  receive  money 
for  use  in  elections  or  to  expend  money  in  elections 
except  under  rigorous  rules  of  publicity. 

"  She  obliges  every  candidate  to  make  a  sworn  return 
to  the  Secretary  of  State  or  to  the  city  or  towm  clerk  of 
monies  received  by  him  to  aid  in  his  nomination  or 
election,  of  monies  expended  by  him  for  such  purpose. 

310 


GATHERING  THUNDER  CLOUDS 

She  has  passed  statutes  obliging  every  treasurer  of  a 
political  committee  to  make  a  similar  return  similarly 
sworn  to  by  him. 

"The  Legislature  has  gone  further.  It  has  antici- 
pated the  possibility  that  some  cunning,  subtle-minded, 
tricky  candidate  might  seek  to  evade  the  law,  and  in 
order  that  the  public  might  surely  know  what  monies 
were  used  in  behalf  of  a  candidate  and  judge  whether  or 
not  there  was  corrupt  use  made  of  such  money,  it  has 
decreed  that  where  any  man  who  is  not  a  candidate  and 
who  is  not  a  treasurer  of  a  political  committee  receives 
or  disburses  money  for  the  purpose  of  aiding  in  a  nom- 
ination or  election,  such  person  must  under  penalty  of 
the  law  file  a  similar  sworn  return. 

"I  have  charged  that  the  chief  law  officer  of  this 
county,  to  whom  you  citizens  of  Boston  have  confided 
the  enforcement  of  this  law  and  whose  duty  it  is  to  pros- 
ecute those  who  violate  it,  has  himself  violated  this  law. 

"  I  have  charged  and  I  reiterate,  that  by  an  oath  which 
he  does  not  respect,  calling  upon  the  sacred  name  of 
God,  he  has  sworn  that  he  received  nothing  and 
expended  nothing  as  a  candidate  for  election,  when, 
as  a  matter  of  fact  and  in  truth,  he  had  received  thou- 
sands of  dollars  from  Thomas  W.  Lawson  for  no  other 
purpose  except  his  political  advancement  in  the  cam- 
paign which  he  has  waged  for  office. 

"I  never  would  have  made  the  charge  had  I  not 
possessed  the  proofs  of  its  truth.  I  knew  when  I  made 
it  that  he  could  not  deny  it.  On  a  public  platform  last 
night  I  predicted  that  within  forty-eight  hours  he  would 
be  forced  to  admit  it.     What  was  the  reason  of  the 

311 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

assurance  on  my  part?  I  will  tell  you,  my  friends. 
That  assurance  came  from  the  knowledge  that  the  proofs 
were  in  my  hands. 

"  John  B.  Moran  has  admitted  the  truth  of  the  charge 
which  I  have  brought  against  him.     .     .     . 

"Think  of  it,  fellow  citizens  of  Boston.  This  man 
who  is  sworn  to  enforce  the  law  says  that  he  received 
money  from  Thomas  W.  Lawson. 

"  Mr.  Lawson  is  a  man  interested  in  the  political 
battles  which  are  waged  within  the  commonwealth  and 
the  nation.  He  is  a  man  reputed  to  be  worth  millions 
and  to  be  interested  in  matters  where  thousands  of 
millions  of  dollars  are  involved.  How  did  it  happen, 
Mr.  Moran,  that  you  asked  him  for  money?  Did  he 
give  you  hundreds  or  thousands  of  dollars  ?  Did  he 
give  you  money  in  your  campaign  for  District  Attorney 
when  you  went  about  Boston  alone  upon  the  platform 
and  told  the  people  that  you  were  fighting  the  million- 
aires and  championing  the  cause  of  the  toiling  masses  ? 
When  you  said  you  were  fighting  the  battle  of  the  man 
against  the  dollar,  how  many  of  Lawson 's  dollars  were 
jingling  in  your  pocket?     .     .     . 

"  How  much  money  did  you  get  from  Mr.  Lawson  in 
your  District  Attorney  fight  ?  How  much  money  did  you 
get  from  Mr.  Lawson  in  your  campaign  for  Governor, 
at  the  very  time  that  you  were  issuing  letters  to  the 
public  telling  them  that  you  would  not  take  a  cent  from 
any  human  being  ? 

"Your  words  were:  fI  shall  accept  pecuniary  assist- 
ance from  no  man.'  Those  are  the  words  which  you 
published  under  date  of  October  14,  1906,  in  a  letter 

312 


GATHERING  THUNDER  CLOUDS 

addressed  to  no  other  person  than  the  same  Mr.  Thomas 
W.  Lawson.  That  letter  was  written  for  publication 
and  intended  to  deceive  the  public." 

I  laid  down  the  paper.  "I  wouldn't  have 
believed  it,"  I  said. 

"It's  hard  lines  when  old  friends  fall  out 
and  begin  to  tell  what  they  know  about  each 
other,"  said  my  companion,  smiling. 

Although  interested — surprised — perhaps 
somewhat  shocked — the  matter  soon  passed 
out  of  my  mind.  When  it  returned  to  haunt 
me  was  three  months  later,  in  the  middle  of  a 
campaign  to  advertise  Boston-Ely  stock — the 
campaign  which  marked  well-nigh  the  last 
activities  of  my  financial  house  for  many  long 
months. 


313 


Chapter  XXXI 
THE  TEMPEST  BREAKS 

THESE  things  passed  out  of  my  mind 
for  a  day — a  day  given  up  to  recrea- 
tion and  contemplation  of  the  system 
of  an  admirable  educational  institution.  We 
went  to  Manlius,  which  is  but  a  short  ride  from 
Syracuse,  on  Monday  morning,  and  spent  the 
remainder  of  that  day  at  St.  John's  School. 

Admirably  situated  is  this  great  military 
academy,  where  air  and  view  are  magnificent, 
with  spacious  grounds,  handsome  and  ade- 
quate buildings,  and  rolling  hills  all  about. 
Several  hundred  boys  and  young  men  are 
students  at  the  institution,  under  the  direction 
of  Colonel  William  Verbeck,  who,  I  believe, 
understands  boys  better  and  is  able  to  hold 
their  interest  and  esteem  more  ingeniously  than 
any  man  I  have  ever  met. 

During  the  day  we  observed  the  routine  of 
school  life,  varied  with  military  drills,  exhibi- 
tions of  horsemanship  and  a  dress  parade  and 
"retreat"  at  sunset.  After  this  I  took  dinner 
at   Colonel   Verbeck's   delightful   home,   with 

314 


THE  TEMPEST  BREAKS 

a  number  of  army  and  navy  officers,  to- 
gether with  the  executives  of  the  school,  who 
had  been  invited  to  participate  in  the  informal 
dedication  of  the  Lyceum  building. 

After  coffee  we  bade  our  delightful  hostess, 
Mrs.  Verbeck,  good  evening,  and  retraced  our 
steps  to  the  group  of  big  school  buildings,  in 
the  assembly  hall  of  which  had  been  gathered 
all  the  students,  in  uniform.  Colonel  Verbeck 
talked  sympathetically  and  interestingly  to  the 
cadets  and  I  said  a  few  brief  words.  Then 
"  The  C.  F.  King  Lyceum''  was  thrown  open  to 
the  school  and  all  the  boys  inspected  it — it 
was  the  first  time  any  o?  them  had  been  allowed 
in  the  interior — and  after  this  the  school  band 
gave  a  concert. 

It  was  a  delightful  occasion.  I  enjoyed 
every  moment  of  the  day.  Every  detail  of  the 
school's  routine  was  interesting  to  me.  I  saw 
hundreds  of  bright,  energetic  American  boys 
learning  discipline  in  connection  with  their 
other  studies.  I  met  the  heads  of  the  school, 
most  of  whom  were  old  acquaintances.  At 
dinner  I  came  in  contact  with  new  friends — 
men  who,  in  the  army  and  navy  of  this  great 
nation,  in  distant  parts  of  our  own  country  and 
far  away  in  tropical  islands,  had  done  their 

315 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

modest  share  toward  establishing  and  main- 
taining the  prestige  of  our  flag.  I  saw  my  own 
two  eldest  sons,  and  I  beheld  no  reason  to  feel 
ashamed  of  them  amid  all  the  others. 

For  a  day  business  was  in  the  background. 
The  storm  clouds  had  sunk  below  the  horizon. 
The  barometer  readings  were  not  watched. 
I  rested,  drew  in  great  breaths  of  the  clear 
autumn  air,  and  forgot  for  the  moment  that 
I  had  large  offices  in  two  cities  and  hundreds 
of  men  whose  work  depended  upon  my  just 
management  of  affairs.  I  forgot  the  affairs  of 
the  Thomases,  whose  names  were  on  the  first 
page  of  every  newspaper.  I  forgot  alike  the 
captains  of  industry  and  the  gamblers  of  Wall 
and  State  Streets.  "It  is  a  'day  off,'  '  I 
thought.  'To-morrow  I  will  drill  down  to 
business  again.     To-day  is  my  holiday." 

It  was  late  that  night  when  I  said  good- 
night to  my  boys  and  to  all  the  good  friends  at 
the  school,  and  started  for  Syracuse,  whence  I 
went  by  train  to  New  York.  Arriving  in  the 
metropolis  at  seven  o'clock  on  Tuesday  morn- 
ing, I  entered  a  cab  and  drove  at  once  to  my 
office.  Newspapers  purchased  on  the  train 
told  me  that  the  cloud  had  risen  high  and  black 
during  the  day  I  had  been  away.     There  were 


THE   TEMPEST   BREAKS 

stories  about  the  financial  situation  that  looked 
unpleasant.  Ugly  rumors  connected  the  name 
of  more  than  one  banking  official  with  the 
Thomas  difficulties. 

The  articles  were  veiled.  Even  the  most 
sensational  newspaper  will  think  long  before 
it  gives  space  to  rumors  that  may  cause  bank 
panics  and  irretrievable  loss  to  depositors. 
Many  readers  of  the  papers  that  morning  did 
not  appreciate  at  all  what  a  serious  situation 
had  suddenly  developed  as  a  result  of  the 
gambling  that  had  gone  on  unstopped  in  the 
marts  of  exchange.  My  knowledge  of  finance 
— of  the  situation  that  might  be  supposed  to 
exist — of  the  sand  upon  which  many  a  structure 
of  business  had  been  builded  during  the  "  good 
times" — made  it  easy  for  me  to  read  between 
the  lines  and  see  that  the  writers,  in  many 
cases,  felt  certain  of  serious  impending  trouble. 

"  I'm  afraid  some  of  the  weak  banks  will  be 
in  trouble  within  a  day  or  so,"  I  said  to  my 
business  associate,  who  was  still  with  me,  as 
we  rode  down  to  the  office. 

"Serious  trouble?"  he  asked. 

"That  nobody  knows.  There  have  been 
dangerous  practices.  If  things  should  get  to 
going — ."     I  shook  my  head.     I  felt  worried 

317 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

— distrustful  of  the  situation.  Yet  I  had  no 
suspicion  of  how  serious  and  far-reaching 
would  be  that  one  day's  developments. 

A  number  of  business  men,  officers  of  a  cor- 
poration whose  affairs  and  prospects  I  had 
been  investigating  with  a  view  to  perhaps 
offering  some  of  their  securities  for  public  sub- 
scription, called  upon  me  that  morning.  After 
them  came  a  procession  of  investors  having 
personal  business.  It  was  a  busy  forenoon.  I 
had  no  time  for  gossip.  No  rumor  came  into 
my  inner  office  of  the  condition  that  was  devel- 
oping with  a  speed  of  lightning  in  the  financial 
world. 

At  about  noon,  in  an  interval  between 
callers,  my  New  York  office  manager  tapped 
on  the  door  of  my  room.  He  had  a  news 
bulletin  of  some  sort  in  his  hand.  His  face 
was  grave.  Behind  him  there  was  a  hum  of 
voices  pitched  in  a  different  key  than  usual. 
The  office  force  was  discussing  the  news  that 
had  just  come  in  so  unexpectedly.  The 
manager  held  out  the  bulletin  toward  me. 

"The  Knickerbocker  Trust  Company  has 
suspended,"  he  said,  tersely. 

The  tempest  had  broken. 


318 


Chapter  XXXII 
IN  THE  PATH   OF  THE   STORM 

THE   Knickerbocker  Trust   Company!     I 
could  not  believe  my  ears. 

Where  were  the  millions  of  dollars  it 
should  have  had  behind  its  barred  windows  and 
under  the  protection  of  its  massive  time  locks  ? 
Where  were  the  powerful  financiers  whose 
interests  were  co-ordinate  with  it  ?  What  had 
happened?  How  had  it  happened?  How 
could  it  have  happened  ? 

No  one  could  answer  my  questions.  The 
newspapers  were  still  struggling  with  the  de- 
scription of  the  run  on  the  bank  and  as  yet  had 
no  time  for  causes.  Financial  houses  who 
might  know  the  whys  and  wherefores  were  in  a 
shrieking  panic  and  no  information  could  be 
gained  from  them. 

I  had  no  personal  deposit  in  the  Knicker- 
bocker, but  I  had  clients  who  kept  large  sums 
there — and  beyond  any  interest  of  personal 
deposits  loomed  the  meaning  of  it  all.  When 
such  an  institution  could  go  to  the  wall,  what 
might  not  happen  to  others  ?     Whom  could  the 

319 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

people  trust  ?  Whom  would  they  trust  ?  And 
the  answer  to  these  questions  spelled  Panic — 
Panic  far-reaching,  unreasoning  and  blind. 

Ordering  a  cab  I  drove  to  the  corner  of 
Fifth  Avenue  and  Thirty-fourth  Street,  where 
stands  on  one  corner  the  gilded  Waldorf- 
Astoria  and  on  another  the  magnificent  build- 
ing of  the  Knickerbocker  Trust. 

Both  streets  were  filled  with  carriages,  auto- 
mobiles and  people  afoot.  A  squad  of  police- 
men was  busy  keeping  the  cross-walks  clear 
and  the  crowd  in  motion.  Telling  my  cabman 
to  wait,  I  alighted  and  joined  the  moving 
swarm  of  people. 

Slowly  I  worked  myself  through  the  crowd 
to  the  massive  granite  doors  of  the  institution, 
now  closed.  Attached  to  one  of  them,  on  a 
bit  of  white  paper  altogether  too  small  to  be  in 
proportion  with  the  dire  news  it  bore,  was  a 
brief  notice  to  the  effect  that  the  company  had 
suspended  payment.  Two  policemen,  with 
their  backs  against  the  door,  were  forced  over 
and  over  again  to  tell  pleading  depositors  that 
no  exception  could  be  made  of  any  case — 
that  the  doors  were  closed  and  would  not  be 
opened — that  there  was  no  hope  of  withdraw- 
ing any  deposits  on  that  day. 

320 


IN  THE   PATH   OF  THE   STORM 

I  have  seen,  previously,  runs  on  banks.  I 
have  read  descriptions  of  many  others.  Yet 
never,  in  fact  or  fancy,  had  I  seen  such  a  run 

as  this. 

There  was  no  line  of  white-faced  working- 
men  and  workingwomen  clutching  in  their 
hands  the  passbooks  that  each  marked  a  few 
hundred  dollars  of  savings.  There  were  no 
shouts  and  threats  of  vengeance.  There  were 
no  depositors  whose  faces  showed  them  to  be 

of  the  poor. 

These  people  were  well-to-do— in  many 
cases  rich.  They  drove  up  to  the  curb 
hurriedly  in  carriages,  cabs  and  automobiles. 
Their  clothing  was  fashionable  and  expensive. 
They  wore  upon  their  fingers  diamonds  and 
emeralds  and  rubies.  They  were  prosperous- 
looking  and  well-fed.  But,  like  those  I  had 
seen  in  the  depositors'  lines  at  other  bank  sus- 
pensions, there  was  fear  in  the  eyes.  Some  of 
them  had  their  all  deposited  in  this  great  insti- 
tution; to  them  ruin  was  as  imminent  as  though 
they  possessed  only  hundreds  instead  of 
scores  and  hundreds  of  thousands. 

Women  whose  knowledge  of  banking  had 
been  confined  to  depositing  money  and  check- 
ing it  out  drove  up  in  haste,  wormed  their  way 

321 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

through  the  crowd,  and  begged  the  policemen 
to  make  an  exception  in  their  case — as  though 
the  officers  could  open  those  heavy  doors. 
Men,  refusing  to  believe  what  they  had  heard 
and  read,  tore  madly  up,  pushed  their  way  to 
the  doors,  read  the  notice,  and  slowly  went 
away. 

I  saw  an  old,  old  man  and  a  young  woman 
— apparently  his  daughter — alight  from  an 
automobile  that  bore  a  crest  on  its  side.  She 
supported  him  through  the  mass  of  people 
and  read  the  notice  to  him.  He  was  richly 
dressed,  yet  there  were  tears  in  his  eyes. 

"It  is  all  in  there,"  he  said  to  her.  "All  in 
there."  And  slowly  they  went  back  to  their 
car  and  drove  away. 

I  saw  a  young  man  in  immaculate  clothes 
turn  from  the  sign  with  white  face.  An 
acquaintance  hailed  him. 

"  Got  much  in  there  ?"  he  asked. 

"Four  hundred  thousand  dollars,"  replied 
the  other,  with  an  attempt  at  ease.  "I  won- 
der"— there  was  a  little  break  in  his  voice — 
"I  wonder  if  I'll  get  any  of  it  out." 

Up  in  Harlem  and  down  town,  where  the 
Knickerbocker  had  branch  banks,  I  read  that 
afternoon  that  there  were  poor  people  whose 

322 


IN  THE   PATH   OF  THE   STORM 

small  savings  were  made  inaccessible  by  the 
suspension.  I  did  not  see  them.  At  the  main 
bank  were  the  rich  and  the  near- rich,  and  they 
made  a  scene  unique  in  all  the  panics  of 
history.  It  was  this  peculiarity  that  made  a 
passing  business  man  say,  in  my  hearing: 

"This  won't  do  any  real  harm.  It's  only  a 
rich  men's  panic." 

Ah,  if  it  only  were!  But  in  my  heart  I 
knew  the  speaker  was  wrong. 

I  knew  that  panic  is  a  blind  thing,  and  the 
stone  dropped  into  the  water  here  in  Fifth 
Avenue,  under  the  very  shadow  of  the  osten- 
tatious Waldorf-Astoria,  was  bound  to  send  its 
waves  in  concentric  circles,  wider  and  wider, 
until  the  farthest  financial  institution  in  the 
land  would  feel  at  least  the  smallest  of  its 
ripples. 

For  a  half  hour,  moving  about  slowly  so  as 
to  avoid  the  orders  of  the  policemen,  I  remained 
in  the  vicinity  of  the  Knickerbocker.  Then 
I  returned  to  my  office. 

I  did  not  eat  lunch  that  day. 

Shut  into  my  inner  office  I  sat  down  to  face 
the  situation  squarely,  and  make  up  my  mind 
just  what  it  meant  to  me,  and  to  those  asso- 
ciated with  me.     I  was  not  so  foolish  as  to 

323 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

believe,  because  I  had  no  funds  deposited  in 
the  Knickerbocker  Trust,  that  I  would  come 
unscathed  out  of  the  difficulty.  I  knew  that 
clients  and  customers  of  mine  had  money  in 
the  Knickerbocker  and  in  other  banks  which 
might  expect  to  be  affected  more  or  less 
directly  by  the  suspension.  I  knew  that  there 
was  impending  a  general  period  of  depression 
— and  that  the  time  before  it  would  be  felt  was 
not  weeks  nor  months  distant,  nor  even  days, 
but  hours.  I  knew  that  there  were  due  me 
scores  of  thousands  of  dollars  on  notes,  and  I 
realized — as  it  turned  out — that  I  could  not 
depend  upon  prompt  payments,  if,  indeed,  I 
did  not  suffer  loss  of  the  entire  amounts. 

I  foresaw  that  there  would  be  a  stock  market 
depression  which  would  make  opportunities 
for  investors  in  listed  stocks,  and  that  it  would 
become  my  duty — in  accordance  with  my 
established  policy  of  giving  the  best  advice 
regarding  the  stock  market  of  which  I  was 
capable — to  advise  my  customers  to  buy  these 
stocks.  This  would  mean  that  I  would  cease 
to  receive  subscriptions  for  those  unlisted 
stocks  which  were  handled  by  my  office,  and 
my  own  income  would  stop.  I  foresaw,  too, 
that  industry  would  be  affected  by  the  financial 

324 


IN  THE  PATH   OF  THE   STORM 

depression — that  mills  would  shut  down,  or  go 
upon  short  time — -that  workingmen  would  lose 
their  employment — that  with  a  tightening  of 
credit  and  shortening  of  business  activities, 
with  "hard  times,"  the  corporations  with 
whose  fortunes  my  name  was  identified  might 
suffer  reflex  effects  that  would  remove  them, 
temporarily,  from  the  list  of  dividend-payers. 

I  foresaw,  continuing  my  own  personal 
analysis,  that  the  progress  of  my  newspaper 
would  be  halted,  that  advertisers  would  curtail 
and  retrench,  and  that  under  the  new  out- 
look I  could  not  hope  to  place  the  Boston 
Daily  Tribune  upon  anything  like  a  paying 
basis  without  the  investment  of  at  least  one 
million  dollars. 

I  viewed  the  situation  carefully,  coldly, 
calmly.  I  saw  what  must  be.  The  facts, 
within  a  very  few  days,  bore  out  my  reasoning. 

With  the  suspension  of  the  Knickerbocker 
Trust  Company  as  a  foundation,  was  erected  a 
pyramid  of  business  trouble.  The  financial 
stringency  came  without  a  moment's  delay. 
Call  money  from  three  per  cent  went  to  one 
hundred  and  twenty.  The  banks  called  in 
their  paper,  refusing  to  renew  old  loans  or 
make  new  ones.     Every  financial  institution  in 

325 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

the  country,  fearing  a  run  such  as  actually 
started  in  many  places,  gathered  in  every 
dollar  it  could  and  locked  the  store  of  gold  up 
in  its  strong  boxes,  against  the  day  of  trouble. 
The  country's  cash  was  withdrawn  from  cir- 
culation. Credit,  which  is  the  life  of  business, 
drooped  and  nearly  died. 

Every  business  man  was  suspicious  of  his 
neighbor  and  selfishly  looking  out  for  Number 
One.  Strange  and  unusual  schemes  to  delay 
payments  of  small  accounts  were  invented. 
For  illustration,  one  of  the  greatest  newspapers 
in  New  York — a  newspaper  whose  credit, 
under  ordinary  circumstances,  is  good  for 
millions — was  compelled  to  pay  its  employees 
by  check  payable  only  through  the  New  York 
Clearing  House,  so  that  it  was  impossible  for 
employees  to  take  the  paper  to  the  bank  against 
which  it  was  issued  and  receive  the  cash ;  in  this 
manner  gaining  a  day  or  two  in  the  actual 
payment. 

These  things  I  foresaw.  Canceling  a  num- 
ber of  business  engagements  that  would  have 
kept  me  in  New  York  another  day  or  two,  I 
left  for  Boston  on  the  Merchants'  Limited 
Express  that  night. 

My  first  move  upon  reaching  home  was  to 

326 


IN  THE  PATH   OF  THE  STORM 

suspend  the  Boston  Daily  Tribune,  which  went 
out  of  existence  on  Friday,  October  25. 

My  next  was  to  order  the  indefinite  closing 
of  my  New  York  office. 


327 


Chapter  XXXIII 
SOUNDING  THE   ASSEMBLY 

HAVING  thus  taken  measures  to  pro- 
vide against  the  business  depression 
that  I  knew  must  last  to  a  greater 
or  less  extent  for  a  long  time,  I  set  about  doing 
what  I  could  to  enable  my  friends  and  clients 
— and  all  those  who  made  a  practice  of  hearing 
and  heeding  my  advice — to  benefit  by  the 
situation. 

At  the  first  crash  of  the  storm  the  stock 
market  had  tottered.  Quotations  had  gone 
hurtling  down,  point  after  point,  under  the 
influence  of  a  frenzied  attempt  to  realize  on 
securities. 

For  a  long  time  the  prices  of  most  of  the  good 
listed  stocks — those  which  have  intrinsic  worth 
and  are  not  merely  the  pawns  of  gamblers — 
had  been  too  high.  (The  others  are  too  high 
at  all  times  and  at  any  price.)  Months  be- 
fore the  panic  I  had  advised  investors  whose 
money  was  in  these  stocks  to  sell,  depending 
upon  coming  lower  prices  to  buy  again  if  they 
desired    to    hold    these    particular    securities. 

328 


SOUNDING  THE   ASSEMBLY 

Those  who  had  followed  my  advice  now  found 
themselves  in  a  position  to  make  great  profits. 

Although  there  was  no  possibility  of  profit 
for  me  personally,  while  on  the  other  hand  it 
cost  me  thousands  of  dollars  a  week,  I  began 
a  careful  and  elaborate  advertising  campaign, 
advising  the  purchase  of  good  listed  stocks.  I 
did  this  just  as  soon  as  my  information  con- 
vinced me  that  the  real  panic  was  over  and 
that  the  stock  market  had  reached  its  greatest 
depression. 

I  look  back  with  pride  upon  that  advertising 
campaign.  Among  all  the  financial  voices  in 
the  country,  mine  was  the  first  to  announce 
that  the  panic  was  over,  and  that  prices  would 
not  go  any  lower.  This  statement  appeared 
in  broadcast  advertisements  on  October  30, 
but  little  more  than  one  week  after  the  Knick- 
erbocker suspension. 

I  told  investors  that  there  was  a  possibility 
of  sympathetic  business  slowness  for  a  con- 
siderable time,  but  that  the  causes  of  the  panic 
had  been  removed,  and  that  the  real  panic  had 
gone.  I  told  them  that  good  listed  stocks 
would  not  go  lower.  They  had  fallen,  then, 
to  such  prices  that  many  of  them  represented 
investments  of  from  ten  to  twenty-five  per  cent. 

329 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

I  advised  investors  to  buy  good  listed  stocks — 
stocks  in  corporations  whose  management, 
dividend-history  and  disassociation  from  gam- 
blers made  it  probable  that  they  would  prove 
profitable. 

From  all  the  stocks  listed  on  the  New  York 
and  Boston  stock  exchanges  I  carefully  pre- 
pared a  list  of  forty-five — fifteen  railroad 
stocks,  fifteen  industrial  stocks  and  fifteen 
mining  stocks.  I  advised  the  customers  of  my 
office  to  buy  them  without  delay  at  the  current 
market  prices.  Beginning  on  November  11 
I  advised  all  investors  publicly  as  to  these 
stocks.  I  went  further  and  offered  to  pur- 
chase any  and  all  of  these  stocks  for  investors 
without  commission  of  any  sort  for  the  service. 

Why  did  I  do  this  when  I  could  not  possibly 
make  a  cent  by  doing  it  and  the  advertising 
cost  me  thousands  of  dollars  ? 

There  were  two  reasons. 

I  had  set  out,  years  before,  with  the  fixed 
policy  of  advising  investors  for  their  profit, 
whether  or  not  by  this  advice  I  made  money 
for  myself.  I  had  advised  them  to  sell  listed 
stocks  when  the  prices  of  listed  stocks  were  too 
high.  It  was  my  duty  now  to  advise  them  to 
buy  listed  stocks,  when  the  prices  were  too  low. 

330 


SOUNDING   THE   ASSEMBLY 

That  was  one  reason.  The  other  one  was 
neither  philanthropic  nor  altruistic.  It  was 
this — that  it  was  good  business  for  me  to  do 
so.  In  the  long  run  honesty  is  always  not 
only  the  best  policy  but  the  best  paying  policy. 
It  was  to  my  business  interest  to  maintain  the 
reputation  I  had  gained  of  advising  investors 
wisely,  even  if,  in  doing  so,  I  had  to  advise 
them  to  buy  securities  from  whose  sale  I 
could  not  make  a  cent  of  profit  instead  of  those 
which  were  sold  through  my  office. 

So  I  advised  the  purchase  of  forty-five  listed 
stocks,  and  thousands  of  investors  listened  to 
my  advice  to  their  great  profit. 

It  would  be  dry  reading  if  I  were  to  repeat 
that  list  of  forty-five  stocks  on  these  pages. 
But  for  that  I  would  print  here  the  names  of 
those  securities,  with  the  prices  at  which  they 
were  selling  when  I  advised  their  purchase, 
and  the  prices  at  which  they  are  selling  as  I 
write  these  words.  Suffice  it  for  me  to  say 
that  there  is  not  one  of  them  which  has  not 
advanced  in  price  many  dollars  a  share — that 
the  investor  who  followed  my  advice  in  those 
days  and  goes  to-day  into  the  market  to  sell 
his  securities  finds  himself  many  hundreds  of 
dollars  ahead  as  the  result  of  taking  my  advice. 

331 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

Those  who  purchased  for  investment,  pure 
and  simple,  find  themselves  the  possessors  of 
securities  which  are  paying  and  will  pay  them 
a  high  rate  of  interest  on  their  investment. 

Merely  in  passing  let  me  mention  two  of 
the  forty-five  stocks  whose  purchase  I  advised 
in  those  dark  days.  One  was  Union  Pacific, 
which  was  selling  at  $100  per  share  when  I 
advised  its  purchase  on  November  11.  It 
has  advanced  to  $165  per  share.  Another  is 
Wolverine  Copper  Mining  Company.  I  ad- 
vised investors  to  buy  it  at  $105  per  share. 
It  has  advanced  to  $146  per  share. 

I  may  be  excused,  I  know,  for  referring  to 
this  matter  of  the  value  of  the  advice  I  gave 
when  so  many  others  were  predicting  a  still 
lower  market  and  many  financial  writers  were 
joining  in  the  cry  that  the  time  was  not  yet 
ripe  for  buying.  When  I  was  forced  on  the 
20th  day  of  February,  1908,  to  make  an  assign- 
ment and  went  away  in  search  of  health,  and 
my  enemies  held  what  they  fondly  believed 
was  the  post  mortem  examination  of  me  and 
my  business,  much  publicity  was  given  my 
affairs.  Of  all  the  newspapers  which  printed 
columns  about  me  in  those  days — and  many 
of  them  should  have  known  it,  for  the  adver- 

332 


SOUNDING  THE  ASSEMBLY 

tisements  giving  the  advice  appeared  in  their 
columns — I  have  not  found  one  which  referred 
to  this  expensive  campaign  in  behalf  of 
investors,  conducted  without  money  and  with- 
out price,  whose  results  had  been  so  profitable 
to  those  that  gave  heed. 

When  financial  writers  said  that  Sugar  was 
going  to  $75,  I  loudly  advised  its  purchase 
at  $93.50.  Before  Christmas  it  went  to  $100, 
and  afterwards  to  $136.  When  the  pessimists 
said  Steel  Preferred  would  go  to  $60,  I  pro- 
claimed my  belief  that  it  was  a  bargain  at 
$84.38.     It   has   since   advanced   in   price   to 

$112. 

Is  it  not  a  striking  commentary  on  weak 
human  nature  that  when,  during  my  absence, 
the  newspapers  were  printing  columns  about 
my  career  as  a  financial  agent,  not  one  of 
them  chanced  to  mention  this  and  scores  of 
similar  instances?  Especially  in  view  of  the 
fact  that  this  was  true— while  most  of  the 
printed  stories  with  which  Lawson  and  his 
assistants  and  his  dupes  provided  them  were 

false. 

The  weeks  passed.  My  office  was  busy 
carrvino*  out  orders  for  these  listed  stocks, 
which  contained  not  a  cent  of  profit  for  me. 

333 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

My  expenses  ran  on,  at  the  rate  of  many 
thousand  dollars  weekly.  My  creditors  were 
paid  promptly.  My  debtors,  for  the  most 
part  because  of  the  money  stringency,  asked 
for  additional  time.  My  resources  shrank, 
as  I  had  foreseen  they  would  from  that  bitter 
hour  of  meditation  on  the  day  of  the  Knicker- 
bocker suspension. 

I  began  to  work  harder  and  to  sleep  less  of 
nights.  There  were  periods  of  discourage- 
ment new  to  me,  and  severe  headaches  that 
left  me  nervous  and  exhausted. 

I  had  no  fear,  as  yet,  that  my  business  would 
not  weather  the  storm.  My  assets  were  so 
vastly  larger  than  my  liabilities  that  I  believed 
I  could  continue  at  a  loss  for  a  year  or  more, 
if  necessary — and  I  felt  positive  that  the 
stringency  would  not  last  more  than  a  few 
months.     I  had  no  fear  of  personal  difficulties. 

Nor  would  I  have  had  cause  for  fear  but  for 
the  sudden  and  treacherous  outbreak  of  the 
old  attacks  on  me — this  time  carefully  planned, 
well  carried  out  and  insidious  in  their  nature. 

There  was  no  just  reason  why  my  house 
should  ever  have  fallen  into  difficulties.  On 
the  contrary,  it  should  have  made  it  stronger 
than  ever  that  in  those  days  when  panic  raged 

334 


SOUNDING  THE  ASSEMBLY 

up  and  down  the  land  I  had  been  the  first  to 
sound  the  bugle  call  to  investors  to  assemble 
around  my  standard  and  pluck  the  fruits  of  the 
situation  by  buying  good  listed  stocks  when 
they  were  selling  at  prices  as  absurdly  low  as 
some  of  the  former  quotations  had  been 
absurdly  high. 


335 


Chapter  XXXIV 
A  CONVINCING  TEST 

THE  first  mutterings  of  the  outbreak 
came  in  the  beginning  of  November, 
immediately  after  the  suspension  of  the 
Boston  Daily  Tribune.  For  some  time  I  was 
unable  to  trace  the  cause,  or  even  to  be  certain 
that  there  was  one  definite  cause  for  the  vari- 
ous attacks  that  centred  on  all  the  companies 
whose  securities  I  had  offered  for  sale,  but 
most  especially  upon  the  King-Crowther  Cor- 
poration. 

Rumors  flew  thick  and  fast  about  the  King- 
Crowther  and  my  connection  with  it.  It  was 
in  business  difficulties — it  was  about  to  go  into 
the  hands  of  a  receiver — the  Post  Office 
authorities  were  investigating  it — lawyers  were 
getting  ready  to  file  suits  against  it — it  was  a 
well-known  fact  that  the  King-Crowther  prop- 
erties existed  only  on  paper  and  that  it 
possessed  no  operating  oil  wells  and  owned  no 
lands  either  in  Texas,  Ohio  or  Indiana — these 
were  a  few  of  the  scores  of  yarns  that,  appar- 
ently coming  from  nowhere,  found  themselves 

336 


A   CONVINCING  TEST 

being  repeated  in  the  mouths  of  thousands  of 
people. 

Some  of  the  stories  were  outrageous.  All 
of  them  were  absurd.  When  the  rumor 
factory  was  working  its  hardest  along  these 
lines,  one  of  the  young  men  in  my  advertising 
department  wrote  a  little  jingle  for  circulation 
merely  about  my  office,  where  its  humor  would 
be  appreciated.  I  found  a  copy  of  it  the 
other  day.  It  is  still  as  good  as  it  was  then, 
and  I  reprint  it : 

King-Crowther  has  no  land  or  soil, 

She  never  owned  a  well; 
She  never  struck  a  flow  of  oil, 

She  has  no  goods  to  sell. 
King-Crowther 's  nothing  but  a  bluff — 

And  yet  it's  quite  complex 
Why  Standard  Oil,  which  buys  the  stuff, 

Should  keep  a-sending  checks. 

My  friends,  dropping  into  my  office  on 
business  or  for  a  moment's  chat,  repeated  the 
rumors  they  had  heard  until  I  was  fain  to  cry 
out,  begging  them  to  desist.  For  it  has  been 
well  said  that  the  truth  may  chase  a  lie  "way 
around  the  world  and  never  catch  it,"  and 
there  was  no  use  in  my  denying  the  stories. 

After  a  few  days   of  this  sort  of  thing  I 

337 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

determined  that  where  there  was  so  much 
smoke  there  must  be  a  fireman — that  some- 
body must  be  furnishing  the  coal  to  get  up  so 
much  steam. 

I  was  unable  to  trace  the  stories  absolutely. 
Some  of  them  seemed  to  emanate  from  Henry 
Hovey  Love,  of  whom  I  have  written.  Others 
had  their  inception  in  various  small  brokerage 
houses  in  State  Street.  I  did  not  believe  at 
that  moment  that  Lawson  was  behind  them, 
and  I  knew  that  Love  did  not  have  influence 
enough  to  start  them.  What  I  did  not  know 
until  long  afterward  was  that  Love,  in  endeav- 
oring to  enlist  the  treacherous  assistance  of 
one  of  my  employees,  had  said  he  was  employed 
by  Lawson,  so  far  as  the  campaign  against  me 
went. 

As  was  intended,  these  industriously  circu- 
lated stories  reached  the  ears  of  King-Crowther 
stockholders,  and  I  received  letters  asking 
what  foundation  existed  for  this  and  that  yarn. 
Nearly  every  one  closed  his  or  her  letter  with 
the  query:  "I  hear  that  King-Crowther  is  not 
worth  ten  dollars  a  share.  What  foundation 
is  there  for  this?" 

iVn  especially  irritating  letter  along  this  line 
came  in  one  of  the  mails  on  November  21,  and 

338 


A  CONVINCING  TEST 

on  the  spur  of  the  moment  I  dictated  an  adver- 
tisement which  appeared  in  all  the  Boston 
newspapers  on  November  22,  in  which  I 
settled,  once  and  for  all,  the  foundation  for 
these  rumors. 

I  made  a  test,  and  a  test  whose  conclusions 
no  one  could  question.  I  offered  to  buy  all 
the  King-Crowther  that  should  be  offered  me 
during  the  following  day  at  fifty-three  dollars 
per  share,  and  to  sell  it  at  fifty-four  dollars  per 
share. 

In  offering  to  do  this  I  demonstrated  my 
confidence  in  the  securitv  as  I  could  have  done 
in  no  other  way.  There  was  held  in  New  Eng- 
land alone — and  therefore  within  reach  of  my 
advertising  of  that  day — stock  which,  sold  at 
that  price,  would  net  an  enormous  profit  to 
the  holders  and  would  cost  me  more  than  a 
half- million  dollars,  had  the  holders  seen  fit  to 
offer  it  to  me.  In  making  the  test,  I  was  bank- 
ing upon  my  knowledge  of  the  worth  of  the 
security  and  of  the  stockholders'  general  con- 
fidence in  it. 

When  the  day's  market  had  closed  I  sur- 
veyed the  result  with  conscious  and  justifiable 
pride. 

There  had   been   offered   me   at  fifty-three 

339 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

dollars  a  total  of  one  hundred  and  three  shares, 
which  I  had  taken,  paying  cash. 

Orders  for  three  hundred  and  thirty-eight 
shares  at  fifty-four  dollars  had  been  received. 

In  a  word,  the  number  of  investors  who 
wished  to  buy  King-Crowther  at  fifty-four  was 
more  than  three  times  as  large  as  the  number 
of  stockholders  who  desired  to  sell  at  fifty- 
three. 

With  the  publication  of  the  facts  regarding 
this  unique  day's  market,  rumor  seemed  to 
die.  But  malice  was  not  dead,  as  events 
proved;  only  temporarily  baffled. 

Then  followed  a  month  or  more  when  my 
enemies  remained  quiescent,  at  least  appar- 
ently. I  continued  to  advise  investment  in 
good  listed  stocks  at  the  "bargain  prices"  that 
obtained  in  the  markets,  and  lent  my  services 
and  the  services  of  my  office  to  investors  with- 
out charge.  I  also  continued,  to  a  degree,  my 
personal  King-Crowther  market,  clearing  the 
stock  through  my  office  at  whatever  price 
could  be  agreed  upon  between  buyers  and 
sellers,  receiving  bids  and  offers  and  publishing 
them  each  day  in  the  newspapers. 

In  connection  with  my  purchases  of  listed 
stocks  for  investors,  at  this  time,  I  had  exten- 

340 


A  CONVINCING  TEST 

sive  dealings  with  a  number  of  important  stock 
exchange  houses  in  Boston.  It  was  through 
the  associations  thus  formed  that  I  came  to 
enter  upon  a  campaign  which,  owing  to 
treachery  and  double-dealing  on  the  part  of 
men  whom  I  had  supposed  to  be  above  such 
practices,  gave  Thuggism  and  its  High  Priest 
a  chance  to  strike  me  a  terrific  blow. 


341 


Chapter  XXXV 
PLANS— AND   A  PLANNER 

IT  WAS  early  in  January,  1908,  that 
William  D.  Elwell,  member  of  the  Boston 
Stock  Exchange  house  of  Wiggin  & 
Elwell,  approached  me  with  a  suggestion  that 
I  participate  in  a  campaign  which  should 
have  as  its  purpose  the  advancing  of  the  price 
of  stock  of  the  Boston-Ely  Mining  Company 
to  the  figure  that  he  said  he  believed  it  was 
worth. 

During  the  month  or  two  previous  I  had  had 
large  transactions  with  Wiggin  &  Elwell,  and  I 
had  come  to  have  great  confidence  in  Elwell, 
the  member  of  the  firm  with  whom  I  personally 
dealt.  He  is  a  big,  fine-looking  young  man, 
of  good  family,  clean  reputation  and  straight- 
forward, honest  ways. 

I  had  come  to  trust  him,  and  he  had  come  to 
trust  me.  Each  found  in  the  other,  apparently, 
a  man  whose  word  was  the  equal  of  most  men's 
bond. 

No  better  illustration  of  this  can  be  shown 
than  in  the  fact  that  within  a  period  of  a  few 

342 


PLANS— AND  A  PLANNER 

days  we  had  dealings  involving  nearly  two 
hundred  thousand  dollars  without  the  passing 
of  a  single  scrap  of  paper  to  bind  either. 

Therefore,  when  he  called,  soon  after  the 
New  Year,  with  a  proposition  that  I  under- 
take an  advertising  campaign  in  behalf  of  the 
Boston-Ely  Mining  Company,  I  listened  to 
him  with  attention,  respect  and  confidence. 
Whatever  might  be  the  outcome  of  my  own 
investigations,  I  felt  that  he  believed  what  he 
was  saying  to  be  truth. 

The  Boston-Ely  Mining  Company,  whose 
property  is  located  at  Ely,  Nevada,  had 
recently  passed  through  a  reorganization,  and 
a  directorate  had  been  chosen  which  seemed 
representative  of  the  best  and  most  con- 
servative business  management.  Elwell  was 
one  of  the  directors,  and  was  the  sales  member 
of  the  board — the  company  official  authorized 
to  conduct  the  marketing  of  its  securities. 
His  associates  were  men  of  note  in  New  En&'- 
land  and  the  country.  Read  their  names — it 
will  be  a  revelation  to  you  in  connection  with 
what  I  have  to  tell: 

Charles  H.  Farnsworth,  vice-president  of  the  Quincy 
Market  Cold  Storage  Company  of  Boston,  and  a 
director  of  the  Fourth  National  Bank  of  Boston. 

343 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

George  E.  Keith,  president  of  the  George  E.  Keith 
Shoe  Company  of  Brockton,  a  director  of  the  City 
Trust  Company  of  Boston,  and  a  director  of  the  United 
Shoe  Machinery  Corporation. 

Arthur  L.  Robinson,  head  of  the  big  house  of  Hosmer, 
Robinson  &  Company,  the  largest  grain  dealers  in 
Boston. 

Joseph  M.  Smith,  president  of  the  Boston  Woven 
Hose  and  Rubber  Company. 

S.  Herbert  Williams,  a  prominent  mining  engineer. 

Jerome  C.  Smith,  former  secretary  of  the  Boston 
Suburban  Street  Railroad  Company. 

The  Boston-Ely  Mining  Company  was 
incorporated  for  $2,000,000,  divided  into 
200,000  shares  of  a  par  value  of  ten  dollars. 
There  had  been  issued  165,000  shares,  and  the 
stockholders,  as  Elwell  told  me  and  showed 
me,  numbered  more  than  seven  hundred. 

The  stock,  which  was  traded  in  on  the 
Boston  Curb  Exchange,  had  been  quoted  as 
high  as  $5.50  a  share  some  time  before.  The 
reorganization — and  especially  an  assessment 
that  had  been  levied — had  caused  the  price  to 
fall  until,  at  the  time  when  Elwell  asked  me  to 
interest  myself  in  the  company's  securities,  the 
stock  was  selling  on  the  market  at  $1.50  a 
share.  Elwell  maintained — I  believed  then 
and  still  believe  with  honest  conviction — that 

344 


PLANS— AND  A  PLANNER 

the  stock  was  actually  worth  at  least  five 
dollars  a  share.  He  sought  to  enlist  my  sup- 
port to  place  the  merit  of  the  security  before 
the  public.  He  was  very  earnest,  and  he  came 
to  see  me  several  times  about  it. 

"There  is  no  man  in  touch  with  the  invest- 
ing public  so  well  fitted  to  take  up  this  matter 
as  you,"  he  said  to  me  on  the  occasion  of  our 
first  talk  about  Boston-Ely.  "The  investors 
have  confidence  in  you — justly,  I  believe. 
You  have  their  ear.  If  you  tell  them  Boston- 
Ely  is  worthy  of  their  support,  they  will  believe 
you.  The  price  of  the  stock,  now  but  $1.50 — 
will  go  to  $5  and  more.  Once  there,  it  will 
stay  there." 

"You  understand  I  would  not  advise  this 
unless  I  were  assured  it  represented  a  good 
investment,"  I  said. 

"I  do — and  you  may  be  assured  it  does," 
he  replied.  "The  properties  at  Ely,  Nevada, 
are  extremely  valuable.  In  fact,"  he  lowered 
his  voice,  "  their  actual  value  is  known  to  but 
very  few  men.     I  am  one  of  them. " 

"  Why  do  you  say  the  price  will  remain  up 
if  it  is  advanced?" 

"Because  the  stock  is  worth  the  higher 
price.     Listen,  Mr.  King.     The  stock  is  down 

345 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

now  because  an  assessment  has  been  levied. 
The  assessment  has  been  paid.  The  company, 
which  was  heavily  in  debt,  is  now  out  of  its 
difficulties.  It  has  a  large  working  capital 
free  and  clear  in  the  treasury.  Competent 
and  trustworthy  engineers,  engaged  for  that 
purpose  by  careful  and  cautious  business  men 
of  Boston  and  New  England,  have  been  to  Ely 
and  have  made  a  painstaking  and  expert 
inspection  of  the  property.  As  a  result  of  their 
report  such  men  as  George  E.  Keith,  Charles 
H.  Farnsworth,  Arthur  Robinson,  Joseph 
Smith  and  Jerome  C.  Smith  have  put  their 
money  in." 

"How  much?"  I  asked. 

"Large  amounts.  They  bought  their  stock 
at  from  $2.50  to  $3  a  share.  There  isn't  a 
director  that  could  sell  at  the  present  market 
except  at  a  great  loss — nor  one  that  would  sell 
at  any  price  under  seven  or  eight  dollars  if  he 
could." 

"  I'll  look  into  the  matter, "  I  told  him. 

I  made  a  careful  investigation.  It  appeared 
that  all  the  things  he  had  told  me  were  true, 
so  far  as  investigation  could  determine.  Of 
course  I  could  not  ascertain  the  truth  of  his 
information  that  a  few  men  knew  the  proper- 

346 


PLANS— AND   A  PLANNER 

ties  to  be  worth  much  more  than  the  public 
believed.  I  had  to  accept  his  word  for  it.  I 
asked  him  about  that  during  a  later  interview. 

"The  fact  is  this,"  he  said.  "During  the 
past  few  days  certain  confidential  reports  from 
the  superintendent  at  the  mine  have  indicated 
that  we  are  about  to  open  a  rich  vein.  If  this 
is  true — and  I  have  no  reason  to  doubt  it — 
the  stock  will  become  worth  six  or  seven,  per- 
haps ten,  dollars  a  share,  as  soon  as  the  news 
gets  out." 

"That  would  be  a  pretty  big  jump  from  a 
dollar  and  a  half,"  I  said. 

"It  has  sold  for  five  and  a  half,"  he  argued. 
"It  would  never  have  gone  much  below  that 
but  for  the  reorganization  and  the  necessary 
levying  of  an  assessment." 

I  hesitated. 

"See  here,  Mr.  King,"  said  Elwell.  "No 
one  else  but  you  outside  the  board  of  direc- 
tors has  this  information  that  I  have  given 
you.  If  you  will  take  hold  and  advise 
investors  to  buy  Boston-Ely — if  you  will  boost 
the  market — it  will  redound  to  your  credit 
more  in  the  days  to  come  than  any  advice  you 
ever  gave." 

My  investigations  continued  to  bear  fruit 

347 


THE   LIGHT  OF  FOUR   CANDLES 

in  good  reports.  Finally  I  became  convinced 
that  Elwell  was  right.  I  gave  careful  con- 
sideration to  his  proposition,  which  was  this: 

An  original  stockholder,  who  had  paid 
seventy-five  cents  a  share  for  his  stock,  had 
been  unable  to  meet  the  assessment  and  had 
offered  Elwell  his  fifty  thousand  shares  at 
seventy-five  cents.  Elwell  had  bought  the 
stock  at  that  figure  and  had  himself  paid  fifteen 
cents  assessment  on  each  share.  He  offered  to 
give  me  a  thirty  days  "  call"  on  thirty  thousand 
shares  at  seventy-five  cents — in  other  words, 
to  allow  me  to  purchase  the  shares  at  that 
price  at  any  time  within  thirty  days — if  I 
would  conduct  an  advertising  campaign  in  the 
stock,  all  expenses  of  the  campaign  to  be  paid 
by  me. 

When  I  had  completed  my  investigation  of 
the  property,  the  officers  and  the  condition  of 
the  company,  I  agreed  with  Elwell  to  conduct 
the  campaign. 

As  I  have  written,  I  had  on  many  occasions 
had  extensive  dealings  with  Elwell,  where 
transactions  involving  hundreds  of  thousands 
of  dollars  had  been  carried  out  without  the 
scratch  of  a  pen  between  us.  I  therefore  did 
not  feel  it  necessary  to  call  in  my  attorney  to 

348 


PLANS— AND   A   PLANNER 

have  a  complicated  legal  agreement  signed, 
sealed  and  witnessed. 

We  definitely  came  to  an  understanding 
that  I  should  advertise  extensively,  advising 
the  purchase  of  Boston-Ely  at  the  market. 
He  assured  me  that  the  directors  had  no  desire 
to  sell  their  own  stock,  that  they  would  be 
glad  to  see  a  price  more  commensurate  with 
the  value  of  the  security — that  they  would 
welcome  such  a  boom. 

He  gave  me,  in  writing,  the  "call"  he  had 
promised — an  agreement  to  deliver  to  me,  on 
demand,  at  any  time  within  thirty  days,  the 
whole  or  any  part  of  thirty  thousand  shares 
of  stock  of  the  Boston-Ely  Mining  Company 
at  seventy-five  cents  a  share. 

I  believed  the  stock  of  the  Boston-Ely  would 
go  to  five  dollars,  and  stay  there.  I  had  no 
intention — and  told  Elwell  so — of  taking  ad- 
vantage of  his  "call"  until  the  stock  had  gone 
to  five  dollars  or  higher. 

You  can  see  what  this  meant  to  me.  I  had 
the  privilege  of  buying  the  stock  for  $22,500. 
If  I  sold  it  at  five  dollars  my  receipts  would  be 
$150,000,  a  gross  profit  of  $127,500.  It  was 
reasonable  to  suppose,  after  my  advertising 
bills  had  been  deducted,  that  I  would  have 

349 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

made  a  net  profit  upon  the  transaction  of  at 
least  $115,000.  At  the  same  time  the  invest- 
ors who  had  taken  my  advice  would  have 
made  money,  viewed  from  either  an  invest- 
ment or  speculative  standpoint. 

Here  was  the  first  opportunity  that  had  come 
to  me  to  add  to  my  own  resources  since  the 
panic.  In  accepting  it  I  believed  I  was  aiding 
investors  to  buy  a  good  security  at  an  extremely 
low  price. 

I  put  the  "call"  in  my  pocket  and  fired  the 
first  gun  in  the  Boston-Ely  campaign  on  the 
morning  of  Saturday,  January  11. 


350 


Chapter  XXXVI 
THE   WHIRL  OF  THE   MARKET 

IT  WAS  originally  planned  to  begin  the 
campaign  in  the  first  part  or  middle 
of  the  week  of  January  12,  but  on 
Friday,  toward  the  close  of  the  market, 
there  developed  a  slight  upward  swing  in  the 
stock  which  made  me  think  that  some  talk  of 
the  arrangements  might  have  leaked.  It 
could  not  have  been  from  my  office,  for  at  that 
moment  I  had  not  taken  even  my  advertising 
manager  into  my  confidence. 

However,  I  called  Elwell  on  the  telephone, 
summoned  him  to  my  office,  and  told  him  I 
had  decided  to  start  the  advertising  the  follow- 
ing morning,  as  I  wished  investors  who  fol- 
lowed my  advice  to  have  opportunity  to  buy 
at  the  very  lowest  possible  price. 

On  Saturday  morning,  January  11,  there 
appeared  in  all  the  Boston  papers,  over  my 
signature,  the  advice  to  buy  Boston-Ely  at  any 
price  under  five  dollars.  On  that  day  and 
the  two  following,  I  took  the  public  into  my 
confidence — told   them   what   I    had    learned 

351 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

about  the  company,  the  properties  and  the 
stock — and  assured  them  of  my  belief  that  the 
stock  would  go  to  at  least  five  dollars  and 
would  not  thereafter  decline  in  price. 

As  was  my  custom  in  those  days  in  all  listed 
stock  transactions  which  I  advised,  I  offered 
to  handle  orders  through  my  office  without 
commission  for  the  service.  The  result  was 
that,  at  the  opening  of  business,  I  had  in  hand 
a  great  number  of  buying  orders. 

The  campaign  was  a  great  surprise  to  me. 
I  had  never  before  advised  the  purchase  of  a 
curb  stock.  I  had  no  knowledge  of  how  the 
public  would  follow  my  advice.  Therefore, 
as  I  say,  I  was  surprised  when,  soon  after  the 
opening  of  the  market,  word  came  to  me  that 
the  scenes  on  the  curb  rivaled  any  that  had 
ever  been  witnessed  there.  Brokers  were 
shouting  and  struggling  in  their  endeavor  to 
fill  the  orders  that  were  coming  in  by  mail, 
telephone  and  telegraph.  The  price  climbed 
steadily  and  surely  upward. 

I  had  my  own  broker  on  the  curb  to  execute 
the  orders  that  were  sent  through  my  office. 
He  bought  at  the  lowest  possible  price  the 
shares  I  received  orders  for.  He  did  not  buy 
or  sell  a  single  share  for  me,  nor  did  I  buy 

352 


THE   WHIRL   OF  THE   MARKET 

or   sell    a   single   share   through  any  broker. 

During  that  day  39,995  shares  of  Boston- 
Ely  were  bought  and  sold  on  the  Boston  Curb. 
The  lowest  price  at  which  the  stock  sold 
was  $2.25  per  share.  The  highest  was  $2.88. 
This  price  was  reached  about  half  an  hour 
before  the  closing  time.  Immediately  after- 
ward there  was  a  rush  of  selling  orders,  and 
the  price  went  down  to  $2.75.  A  great  many 
of  these  orders  came  from  speculators  who  had 
bought  in  the  morning  and  wished  to  take  their 
profits  rather  than  carry  the  stock  over  Sunday. 

Saturday  is  a  short  day  on  the  stock  ex- 
change and  curb.  The  market  closed  at  noon, 
with  the  price  $1.25  higher  than  at  closing 
time  the  day  before  and  sales  aggregating 
practically  forty  thousand  shares — in  two 
hours. 

As  I  dictated  my  Sunday  advertisement,  I 
felt  that  the  campaign  was  a  success. 


353 


Chapter  XXXVII 
LAWSON   REDIVIVUS 

I   WENT    to    my    office    on    Sunday,    con- 
trary to  my  usual  custom,  and  while  there 
was  called  on  the  telephone  by  a  friend. 
He  wanted  to  see  me  in  a  hurry,  and  came 
immediately  to  the  office. 

"Look  out  for  Lawson,"  he  said,  the 
moment   he   entered   the   door.     "He's   after 

you." 

"After  me?"  I  replied,  incredulously. 
"What  makes  you  think  that?" 

"I  don't  think  it.  I  know  it.  He's  crazy. 
He's  got  all  his  lines  out  and  he's  going  to  come 
down  on  you  hard.     I've  got  it  straight." 

"Where?" 

"I  can't  tell  you.  But  it's  authentic.  He's 
after  you." 

"What  if  he  is?"  I  laughed.  "It  don't 
strike  me  he  can  hurt  anybody.  What  is  he 
going  to  do  ?  Advise  people  not  to  buy  Boston- 
Ely  ?  Because  if  he  does  he'll  get  his  trouble 
for  his  pains.  The  public  has  ceased  taking 
his  advice — long  ago." 

354 


LAWSON   REDIVIVUS 

"  Something  worse  than  that.  I  don't  know 
what  it  is,  but  it's  bad.  He's  fairly  tearing 
his  hair  because  you  have  gone  into  the  curb 
market  just  at  this  time." 

"Why  just  now?" 

"  I  don't  know  for  sure,  but  I  think  he  had 
a  campaign  of  some  sort  coming  on  this  week, 
and  you  have  got  in  ahead  of  him. " 

I  refused  to  take  the  matter  seriously  in  my 
friend's  presence,  but  I  got  in  touch  with 
Elwell  at  the  earliest  possible  moment  to  learn 
if  he  knew  anything  about  it.  He  was  ignorant 
of  any  plan  to  stop  our  campaign,  nor  did 
he  believe  any  scheme  could  be  successful, 
whether  it  were  worked  by  Lawson  or  any- 
body else. 

"It  is  all  right,  I'm  sure,  Mr.  King,"  he 
said.  "It  was  a  short  day,  yesterday,  and 
your  advertising  did  not  get  all  over  New 
England.  Unless  I  have  misjudged  the  follow- 
ing you  have,  Boston-Ely  will  go  above  three 
dollars  to-morrow,  in  spite  of  all  anybody  can 
do.  Of  course,  Lawson  or  any  other  specu- 
lator may  attempt  to  hammer  the  stock  down, 
but  they  can't  do  that  except  by  selling.  And 
they  have  got  to  buy  at  the  market  or  else 
sell   short — and  if  any  of  your  enemies   sell 

355 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

short  they'll  play  into  your  hands,  for  the 
holders  won't  sell  them  the  stock  to  deliver 
except  at  the  market  price." 

I  had  received  no  warning  from  Lawson 
that  he  wanted  to  renew  our  old  difficulty, 
but  I  could  not  disabuse  my  mind  of  the  idea 
that  my  friend  might  be  right,  for  I  knew 
Lawson  of  old. 

Therefore  I  cannot  say  I  was  tremendously 
surprised,  on  taking  up  my  newspaper  on 
Monday  morning,  to  read,  directly  across  the 
page  from  my  own  advertisement  calling 
attention  to  the  Boston-Ely  boom,  the  follow- 
ing "  open  letter,"  with  Lawson 's  name  in  big 
type  at  the  bottom  of  it : 

John  B.  Moran,  Esq., 

District  Attorney  for  Suffolk  County. 

Dear  Sir: 

Herewith  I  call  your  attention  to  a  glaring  and 
extensive  swindle  which  is  being  pulled  off  within  your 
jurisdiction. 

Certain  persons  secure  all  the  capital  stock  of  a  cor- 
poration. 

They  then  enter  into  agreement  with  certain  other 
persons  to  advertise  false  and  misleading  statements 
concerning  this  stock;  amongst  others,  the  statement 
that  all  who  purchase  will  be  enabled  immediately  after 

356 


LAWSON  REDIVIVUS 

such  purchase  to  resell  at  from  300  to  1000  times  the 
price  paid.  The  pay  of  the  second  party  is  the  money 
spent  in  advertising  and  a  portion  of  the  swag  resulting 
from  the  fraud. 

After  the  advertising  appears,  reputable  Curb  brokers 
are  employed  to  "  buy"  and  "  sell"  large  amounts  of  the 
stock.  Such  purchases  and  sales  are  all  fictitious, 
although  not  known  to  be  so  by  the  brokers  making 
them,  as  the  brokers  are  not  informed  that  other 
brokers  have  been  employed  to  sell  what  they  buy. 
These  fictitious  purchases  and  sales  are  made  at  advanc- 
ing prices.  This  part  of  the  swindle  is  of  easy  accom- 
plishment, because  no  one  can  prevent  the  increase  of 
price,  as  no  one  but  the  conspirators  has  any  stock  to 
offer  for  sale. 

After  a  few  days  of  such  fraud-made  activity  and 
advance  of  price,  to  which  the  second  party,  in  advertise- 
ment, calls  the  attention  of  the  public  as  proof  that  the 
public  are  really  buying  and  advancing  the  price,  the 
first  party  unloads  great  quantities  of  the  stock  upon 
innocent  investors  at  any  price  obtainable.  The  stock 
then  disappears  from  the  market,  and  all  the  money 
invested  in  it  is  lost  to  those  who  have  been  thus 
tricked  into  believing  they  were  engaged  in  a  legitimate 
business  transaction. 

Investigation  by  your  office  will  show  that  the  people 
of  New  England  have  been  defrauded  during  the  past 
few  months  of  over  $3,000,000.  In  one  stock  alone  they 
have  been  parted  from  $1,200,000  at  from  $65  to  $100 
per  share.  This  stock  yesterday  sold  at  $4  per  share, 
and  after  such  sale  could  not  be  sold  at  any  price.     This 

357 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

stock  is  worthless.  It  was  known  to  be  worthless  at  the 
time  it  was  unloaded  upon  innocent  investors. 

Saturday,  January  11,  a  new  stock  was  selected. 

The  records  of  the  Curb  transactions  will  show  you 
that  previous  to  the  appearance  of  the  advertisement 
on  this  stock  there  had  been  no  transactions. 

Saturday's  record  will  show  you  there  were  over 
38,000  shares  "bought"  and  "sold"  and  that  the  price 
"advanced"  nearly  100  per  cent.  Yesterday's  news- 
papers contained  large  advertisements  stating  that  this 
activity  is  proof  of  the  public's  great  interest  in  the  stock 
and  proof  that  it  is  to  further  advance  500  to  800  per 
cent. 

I  will,  if  you  desire,  furnish  your  office  with  evidence 
of  the  following  facts : 

Upon  the  appearance  of  this  new  fraud,  and  for  the 
purpose  of  supplying  your  office  with  proof  of  the 
fraudulent  nature  of  this  new  attempt,  I  instructed  rep- 
utable Stock  Exchange  and  Curb  brokers  to  buy  and 
sell  this  stock.  They  went  through  the  form  of  buying 
and  selling  for  me  over  30,000  shares  of  the  38,000; 
the  balance  of  the  transactions,  with  the  exception  of  a 
few  shares,  were  likewise  fictitious,  that  is,  no  money 
really  passed  in  the  transactions  other  than  that  paid  to 
the  brokers  as  their  commission.  In  my  own  transac- 
tions not  a  dollar  other  than  the  brokers'  commission 
was  involved. 

I  respectfully  ask  you  to  investigate  this  outrageous 
swindle  and  others  which  have  preceded  it  and  others 
now  being  formulated.  I  assure  you,  if  you  will  do 
this,  I  will  supply  you  with  all  the  evidence  necessary, 

358 


LAWSON  REDIVIVUS 

even  to  the  proposition  made  to  me  by  the  parties 
interested,  to  the  effect  that  if  I  would  allow  the  scheme 
to  proceed  I  could  have  my  price. 

In  making  this  request  I  would  call  your  attention  to 
these  facts: 

There  is  in  Boston  at  the  present  time  a  horde  of  pro- 
fessional crooks  who  have  already  swindled  the  public 
out  of  vast  sums ; 

The  money  losses  yearly  through  these  swindles  in 
Boston  alone  are  hundreds  of  times  greater  than  the 
aggregate  municipal  graft,  even  if  it  is  all  rumor  tells  of. 

The  suffering  resulting  from  this  class  of  fraud  is 
many,  many  times  more  terrible  than  municipal  graft 
or  even  bucket-shop  swindling,  for  the  victims  are  largely 
workmen  and  workwomen,  clerks,  servants,  widows  and 
orphans,  who  are  enticed  into  risking  their  little  all  in 
the  hope  of  securing  the  additional  income  promised, 
which,  it  should  be  unnecessary  for  me  to  say  to  you, 
has  never  in  a  single  instance  materialized. 

The  misery  and  suffering  which  has  resulted  from  this 
class  of  fraud  in  1907  is  many  times  greater  than  the 
combined  misery  and  suffering  arising  from  all  the 
abortion,  social  evil,  gambling,  bucket  shops  and 
money  sharkeries  in  Suffolk  County. 

In  passing  upon  my  request  bear  in  mind:  It  is  not 
made  by  one  who  must  depend  upon  rumor  or  guess  for 
his  facts,  but  by  one  who  knows  the  whole  miserable 
business  in  all  of  its  despicable  workings  as  well  as  all 
those  engaged  in  it,  so  that  he  can  lay  complete  personal 
knowledge  evidence  before  you. 

P.   S. — I  would   suggest  that  you   have  your  plain 

359 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

clothes  men  in  the  crowd  at  the  opening  of  trading  on 
the  Curb  at  10  o'clock  this  morning,  January  13.  If 
you  decide  to  do  this  and  will  notify  me  before  9.30  I 
will  have  a  corps  of  active  Curb  brokers  to  assist  your 
officers  in  securing  evidence. 
Believe  me, 

Yours  very  truly, 
THOMAS  W.  LAWSON. 
Boston,  January  13,  1908. 

I  started  to  read  the  advertisement  with  some 
perturbation,  remembering  Lawson's  old  skill 
at  market-rigging  and  realizing  that  he  might 
be  able  to  injure  the  campaign.  I  continued 
to  read  it  with  growing  amusement.  I  finished 
it  with  real  delight.  Even  to-day  it  impresses 
me  as  a  most  grotesque  bit  of  humor.  That 
is  why  I  republish  every  word  of  it — not  only 
that  the  reader  may  see  how  Lawson  broke  his 
truce,  but  that  he  may  enjoy  the  quaint,  naive 
statements  contained  in  the  open  letter,  even 
as  I  did  that  morning. 

Leaving  aside  the  bare  misstatements  of 
fact  regarding  the  Boston-Ely  campaign  which 
permeated  the  advertisement  from  beginning 
to  end,  the  most  striking  thing  about  the  letter 
was  that  the  methods  it  described  as  being  pur- 
sued are  the  exact  methods  used  by  Lawson 

360 


LAWSON   REDIVIVUS 

himself  in  his  own  campaigns.  The  next 
thing  that  will  impress  the  reader  is  that  Law- 
son  claimed  that  the  38,000  shares  sold  were 
"wash  sales"  and  as  such  were  fraudulent — 
and  in  the  next  breath  declared  that  he  him- 
self had  been  responsible  for  30,000  shares, 
and  that  all  his  were  "washed." 

It  was  as  though  he  had  said:  "A  terrible 
crime  has  been  committed.  I  committed 
the  greater  part  of  it.  Therefore  I  am  com- 
petent to  give  you  evidence  regarding  those 
who  committed  the  remainder." 

In  the  fourth  paragraph  of  his  letter,  Law- 
son  cries  out  against  "wash"  sales  in  which 
brokers  have  not  been  informed  that  one  has 
been  ordered  to  sell  and  another  to  buy.  By 
a  peculiar  coincidence,  there  appears  in 
to-day's  Boston  newspapers  (August  31,  1908), 
just  as  I  am  writing  this  chapter,  a  statement 
signed  by  Lawson  in  excuse  of  the  manipula- 
tion of  which  he  has  just  been  guilty  in  con- 
nection with  his  "National  Stock"  blind  pool. 
Read  the  following,  and  compare  it  with  what 
he  wrote  to  District  Attorney  Moran  in  that 
second  paragraph: 

"I  have  never,  as  is  public  knowledge  in  Wall  and 
State  Streets,  done  business  with  any  man  or  house  who 

361 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

offered  to  break  Stock  Exchange  rules.  I  have  given 
manipulative  orders  to  Stock  Exchange  brokers  to  the 
extent  of  millions  upon  millions  of  shares,  but  never  in  a 
single  case  have  I  asked  or  countenanced  the  proposition 
that  we  '  wash '  stock. 

"  My  manipulation  has  been  the  giving  of  an  order  to 
one  broker  to  buy  and  without  his  knowledge  to  another 
broker  to  sell,  paying  full  commissions  both  for  selling 
and  buying  and  taking  all  the  chances  of  either  losing 
the  stock  I  offered  through  the  selling  broker  or  buying 
all  the  stock  bid  for  by  my  buying  broker.  If  all  manip- 
ulative Stock  Exchange  business  was  done  in  this  way 
there  would  be  no  scandal." 

It  was  a  weak  letter — a  laughable  letter.  I 
smiled  at  its  humor,  even  while  I  felt  hot 
waves  of  indignation  at  the  treachery  with 
wThich  Lawson,  after  my  daily  newspaper  had 
been  suspended,  after  my  resources  had 
shrunk,  after  I  was  in  a  less  advantageous 
position  to  prosecute  him  as  I  had  before  been 
about  to  do,  had  fired  upon  me  under  a  flag  of 
truce. 

I  knew  that  such  a  letter  could  have  no 
effect  upon  the  market,  for  several  reasons. 
First,  it  was  so  glaringly  mendacious  that  its 
words  could  not  affect  any  investors  who 
had  been  reading  my  advertisements — and  its 
effect   on   others   was   unimportant.     Second, 

362 


LAWSON   REDIVIVUS 

Lawson  was  so  thoroughly  discredited  in  the 
eyes  of  the  public  that  his  letters,  whether  to 
the  District  Attorney  or  some  other,  aroused  no 
feelings  other  than  curiosity  and  amusement. 

As  reports  began  to  come  in  from  "the 
Street,"  that  morning,  I  found  that  the  open 
letter  had  made  the  same  impression  upon 
brokers  throughout  the  city  that  it  had  upon 
me.     They  regarded  it  as  a  huge  joke. 

None  of  them  expected  it  to  affect  the  market 
to  any  degree;  not  one  of  them  was  advising 
his  customers  to  sell  on  account  of  it;  all  were 
preparing  for  a  big  buying  day  in  Boston-Ely. 
As  they  gathered,  prior  to  the  opening  of  the 
Curb  at  ten  o'clock,  jokes  were  hurled  back 
and  forth.  "Look  out  for  the  plain  clothes 
men!"  "  Has  Lawson  got  his  corps  of  brokers 
here  yet?"  "Who's  going  to  wash  30,000 
shares  for  Lawson  to-day?" 

By  telephone  from  Boston  and  surrounding 
cities  orders  came  into  my  office,  and  into  the 
offices  of  brokers  throughout  the  city,  to  buy 
Boston-Ely.  By  letter  and  by  telegraph  from 
distant  parts  of  New  England  came  similar 
orders.  The  market  opened  about  where  it 
closed  the  Saturday  before,  and  soon  advanced 
to  $3.25. 

363 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

Something  like  ten  thousand  shares  had 
been  traded  in  when,  at  about  noon,  Elwell 
called  me  on  the  telephone.  His  voice  was 
excited. 

"  Have  you  any  objection  to  my  loaning  Tom 
Lawson  ten  thousand  shares  of  Boston-Ely?" 
he  asked. 

"What!"  I  cried.  I  could  not  believe  my 
ears. 

"Tom  Lawson  wants  to  borrow  ten  thou- 
sand shares  of  Boston-Ely.  May  I  loan  them 
to  him?" 

"Certainly  not." 

"He  will  pay  well  for  the  accommodation." 

"And  batter  the  market  with  it.  No.  You 
tell  Mr.  Lawson  if  he  wants  any  Boston-Ely 
stock  that  he  can  buy  it  in  the  open  market  at 
the  market  price.  I'm  surprised  you  asked 
me  such  a  question,  Mr.  Elwell." 

"Oh,  I  didn't  think  you  would  agree.  I 
merely  passed  the  request  along." 

"How  is  it  looking?" 

"All  right.     There's   a  big  line  of  selling 
just  beginning,  though." 
Who  is  doing  it?" 

I  don't  know.     Not  the  old  stockholders, 
I'm  sure.     They're  satisfied  to  hold  their  stock 

364 


LAWSON  REDIVIVUS 

for  a  big  advance.  I  think  it  must  be  short 
selling." 

"If  it  is,  whoever  is  doing  it  is  a  certain 
candidate  for  the  'in  bad'  club,  isn't  he?"  I 
asked. 

"I  should  think  so,"  was  Elwell's  reply. 

Ten  minutes  later  the  price  began  to  sag. 
My  own  curb  broker  talked  hurriedly  to  me 
on  the  'phone. 

"Lawson's  brokers  are  selling  Boston-Ely 
in  blocks  of  hundreds, "  he  said.  "  Shall  I  buy 
any  more  than  we  have  office  orders  for?" 

"Not  a  share  more,"  I  said.  "When  they 
get  through  selling  let's  see  them  get  the  stock 
to  deliver." 

"That  sounds  good  to  me,"  said  the  broker, 
and  hurried  back  to  his  place  on  the  curb. 

Somebody  sold  close  to  ten  thousand  shares 
between  then  and  the  close  of  the  market,  at 
three  o'clock.  Under  the  pressure  of  this 
heavy  selling  the  price  went  to  $2.50  and  then 
slowly  rose,  despite  the  frantic  efforts  of  the 
Lawson  coterie  of  brokers  to  keep  it  down, 
to  $2.81,  at  which  price  the  market  closed. 

Elwell  appeared  at  my  office  soon  after 
three  o'clock.  He  was  showing  the  strain  of 
the  day,  and  appeared  to  be  worried. 

365 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

"I  don't  just  like  the  attitude  of  one  or  two 
of  our  directors,"  he  said,  "and  I'm  afraid 
I'll  have  to  ask  you  not  to  mention  the  names 
of  the  directorate  in  to-morrow's  advertise- 
ment." 

"What's  the  matter?"  I  asked. 

"Oh,  nothing.  Merely  ultra-conservatism, 
I  gather.  But  several  of  them  feel  uneasy 
about  so  much  publicity.  I  think  it  would  be 
a  good  idea  to  leave  their  names  out  of  it." 

"Very  well.  I  shall  not  use  their  names 
again.  Who  was  selling  in  the  market  this 
afternoon?" 

"Some  of  it  may  have  been  traders,  and 
some  of  it  profit-taking  on  the  part  of  old  stock- 
holders. Most  of  it,  though,  was  Lawson, 
I  think." 

"Did  he  get  that  loan  of  ten  thousand 
shares  ?" 

"Not  from  me,  and  I  don't  know  anybody 
else  that  could  loan  it  to  him." 

"Then  you  think  he  sold  short." 

"I  don't  know.  If  he  did  he  is  in  trouble, 
for  I  believe  there  will  be  a  rebound  to-morrow. 
He  can't  keep  selling  short  forever." 

The  returns  for  the  day  came  in.  There 
had  been  bought  and  sold  21,091   shares  of 

366 


LAWSON   REDIVIVUS 

Boston-Ely  at  from  $2.50  to  $3.25.  I  felt  that 
the  stock  had  withstood  the  battering  very 
creditably,  and  as  I  firmly  believed  in  the 
intrinsic  worth  of  the  security  I  had  no 
uneasiness  regarding  the  outcome. 

My  peace  of  mind  was  added  to  when  news 
came  in  that  the  official  low  price  for  the  day 
had  been  decided  to  be  $2.81— the  $2.50 
quotation  having  been  merely  a  "wash"  trans- 
action between  two  Lawson  brokers. 


367 


Chapter  XXXVIII 
ENTER  THE  DISTRICT  ATTORNEY 

THAT  evening  a  friend  who  was  in  close 
touch  with  things  in  the  business  world 
brought  me  some  very  disquieting  in- 
formation. 

"I  happen  to  know,"  he  said,  "that  all 
kinds  of  pressure  are  being  put  upon  the 
directors  of  the  Boston-Ely  to  get  them  to 
throw  you  overboard." 

"I  have  no  agreement  with  the  directors," 
I  replied. 

"Well,  I  don't  know  anything  about  that, 
but  I'm  told  they  have  had  no  peace  of  mind 
to-day — that  their  'phones  have  been  ringing 
from  morning  until  night  and  they  have  been 
asked  why  they  allowed  you,  a  sensational 
advertiser,  to  handle  a  campaign  for  their 
company." 

"That's  annoying,  undoubtedly,"  I  agreed, 
"  but  I  fail  to  see  just  what  effect  it  will 
have — particularly  as  I  have  to-day  agreed 
not  to  print  their  names  any  more." 

"  Wait  until  I  tell  you  who  has  been  working 

368 


ENTER  THE  DISTRICT  ATTORNEY 

the  telephone  scheme,' '  said  my  friend.  "It 
is  Burton — Dick  Burton — the  chap  who  used 
to  be  Lawson's  secretary  and  who  is  now — 
nominally  at  least — in  business  for  himself." 

"That's  no  more  than  was  to  be  expected." 

"I'm  told  he  has  succeeded  in  getting  one 
or  two  of  the  directors  uneasy, "  said  my  friend. 

I  became  impatient.  "What  of  it?"  I 
demanded.     "  What  could  they  do  ?  " 

'They  could  disclaim  any  responsibility  for 
your  statements." 

"I  haven't  credited  them  with  any  respon- 
sibility for  anything  I've  said." 

'  Well,  I  don't  know.  But  remember,  King, 
Lawson  is  fighting  you  again.  His  advertise- 
ment this  morning  fell  flat.  He  is  in  a  rage — 
the  whole  Street  knows  that.  He  won't  stop 
anywhere." 

The  morning  brought  forth  another  move 
in  the  campaign.  It  was  the  most  unexpected 
— the  most  astounding — that  I  have  ever 
heard  of  in  connection  with  an  attempt  to 
"bear"  the  price  of  a  stock. 

The  District  Attorney  replied  to  Lawson. 

This  was  a  development  that  the  wildest 
scare-monger  could  not  have  expected.  On 
the  face   of  it,   Lawson's   advertisement  had 

369 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

been  merely  a  move,  and  a  desperate  one,  in 
an  attempt  to  batter  down  the  price  of  a  stock 
and  discredit  me  and  my  office  with  investors. 
It  had  been  glaringly  false,  as  well  as  absurd. 
No  one  had  taken  it  seriously;  it  was  the  last 
thing  to  be  expected  that  an  attorney  astute 
enough  to  hold  the  position  of  chief  pros- 
ecuting officer  of  Suffolk  County  would  pay 
attention  to  it.  Furthermore,  it  was  common 
knowledge  that  all  the  practices  of  which  Law- 
son  falsely  accused  me  in  his  letter  were 
practices  of  which  he  himself  was  a  past-master. 
Even  had  I  been  guilty  of  all  the  things  he 
charged  me  with  it  would  have  been  merely  a 
case  of  the  pot — ebony-hued  in  the  sight  of 
all  men — calling  the  kettle  black. 

In  common  with  the  rest  of  business 
Boston,  I  had  not  expected  District  Attorney 
Moran  to  pay  any  attention  to  the  Lawson 
letter,  other,  perhaps,  than  to  grin  sardonically 
and  appreciate  it  as  a  choice  bit  of  humor. 
I  was  therefore  dumbfounded  when  he  re- 
plied, and  allowed  Lawson  to  print  his  letter 
in  a  big  advertisement.  He  addressed  him  as 
"Honorable  Thomas  W.  Lawson" — Heaven 
save  the  mark! — and  he  thanked  him  for 
"  exposing  offenses. " 

370 


ENTER  THE  DISTRICT  ATTORNEY 

Lawson  headed  his  advertisement,  that 
Tuesday  morning,  in  great,  black  type,  "  Stock 
Swindling."  Here  is  the  District  Attorney's 
letter,  which  appeared  in  Lawson's  space  and 
for  the  publication  of  which  Lawson  paid. 
The  italics  are  mine: 

Commonwealth  of  Massachusetts. 

Office  of  District  Attorney, 

Boston. 

January  13,  1908. 

Hon.  Thomas  W.  Lawson, 

Dear  Sir:  Your  communication,  a  copy  of  which  is 
printed  in  the  morning  papers,  at  hand. 

I  have  arranged  to  leave  Boston  for  a  month  or  two 
to-morrow  or  the  next  day.  My  assistants,  Mr.  Mc- 
Gettrick  and  Mr.  Dwyer,  are  at  present  engaged  in  pre- 
paring a  Chinese  murder  case  which  goes  to  trial  on  the 
20th  of  this  month  and  will  take  probably  three  or  four 
weeks'  time.  My  other  assistant,  Mr.  Isaacs,  is  con- 
ducting routine  cases  in  the  regular  session,  and  will 
continue  to  do  so  during  the  month. 

Because  of  the  importance  of  the  information  conveyed 
by  your  communication  to  me,  I  have  personally 
retained  Mr.  Grenville  S.  MacFarland,  attorney-at-law, 
and  directed  him  to  confer  with  your  attorney  and  you 
to-day  and  from  time  to  time  henceforth,  and  under 
the  direction  of  Mr.  Dwyer,  my  assistant,  to  take  such 
action  as  may  be  necessary  to  secure  complete  evidence  of 
the  offenses  exposed  by  you  and  to  prepare  the  case  for 

371 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

presentation  by  Mr.  Dwyer  to  the  grand  jury  when  it 
next  sits. 

Regretting  exceedingly  that  the  condition  of  my  health 
necessitates  my  immediate  departure  from  Boston,  and 
that  I  am  thus  deprived  of  devoting  personal  attention 
to  the  subject  matter  of  your  communication,  I  am 

Most  sincerelv  yours, 
(Signed)  JOHN  B.  MORAN, 

District  Attorney. 

In  the  face  of  this  letter,  the  most  remark- 
able, I  believe,  that  ever  issued  from  the  office 
of  a  District  Attorney  under  similar  circum- 
stances, the  stock  of  the  Boston-Ely  Mining 
Company  opened  that  morning  at  $3  a  share, 
and  notwithstanding  desperate  hammering 
on  the  part  of  the  Lawson  brokers,  advanced 
to  $3.50  within  less  than  an  hour. 


372 


Chapter  XXXIX 
AN  UNEXPECTED  STAB 

LAWSON'S  grotesque  letter  to  Moran 
had  failed  to  arouse  any  feeling  except 
merriment.  His  frenzied  short  selling 
had  failed  to  hammer  down  the  price  of  the 
stock.  Even  this  letter  from  the  District  At- 
torney, taking  his  charges  as  seriously  as 
though  they  had  been  made  by  an  honest  man 
in  good  faith  and  in  the  interest  of  public  pol- 
icy, did  not  affect  the  price. 

Early  that  forenoon  I  learned  that  Richard 
J.  Burton  and  other  Lawson  assistants  were 
laboring  with  the  directors  of  the  Boston-Ely 
Company.  They  were  working  principally 
by  indirection,  naturally — it  was  not  probable 
that  the  directors  would  pay  attention  had 
they  done  otherwise.  I  was  told  that  every 
business  friend  of  Lawson  who  could  be  im- 
pressed into  the  service  was  calling  up  the 
directors  and  asking  them  about  the  campaign. 

Soon  after  eleven  o'clock  I  heard  a  rumor 
that  the  Boston-Ely  directors  were  about  to 
meet,    and   that   there   was    a   plan   on   foot 

373 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

whereby  they  were  to  depress  the  price  of  the 
stock.  This  seemed  inconceivable,  but  I 
hastened  to  call  Elwell  on  the  telephone  at  his 
office.  They  said  he  was  absent,  but  gave  me 
another  telephone  number,  and  on  calling  it  I 
got  him  to  the  'phone.  I  quickly  told  him 
what  I  had  heard.     His  voice  was  shaking. 

"  We  are  in  session  now, "  he  said.  "  I  don't 
know  what  will  be  done,  but  I'm  afraid  some 
statement  will  be  issued  which  will  injure  the 
campaign." 

"Do  you  mean  that  the  directors  of  your 
company  will  deliberately  '  bear  '  their  own 
stock?"  I  demanded. 

"I'm  afraid  so,"  he  replied.  "I'm  doing 
the  best  I  can  to  head  it  off.,, 

"What  is  the  matter?"  I  asked.  "Isn't 
the  stock  all  that  you  claimed  for  it  ?  Haven't 
the  discoveries  been  made  that  you  told  me 
of?  Are  there  not  more  than  seven  hundred 
stockholders  on  your  books,  many  of  whom 
paid  more  than  $5  a  share  for  their  stock?" 

"Oh,  yes.     That's  all  true." 

"Don't  the  other  directors  know  it?" 

"Yes.     They  know  it." 

"  Then  how  can  they  honestly  take  part  in  a 
scheme  to  depress  their  own  stock?" 

374 


AN   UNEXPECTED   STAB 

"I'm  doing  the  best  I  can  to  stop  it." 

I  exploded  with  indignation.  "  Doing  the 
best  you  can!"  I  exclaimed.  " If  you  do  what 
you  should  you  will  not  only  protest  against 
any  such  action,  but  you  will  tell  them  that 
your  resignation  as  a  director  takes  effect  upon 
the  issuing  of  any  letter  by  them  to  'bear'  the 
stock,  and  you  will  further  tell  them  that  you 
will  at  once  join  hands  with  me  in  exposing  the 
whole  dirty  business." 

"  I'll  do  all  I  can.  I've  got  to  go  back  now, " 
said  El  well. 

While  this  meeting  was  in  progress,  and  just 
before  the  directors  voted  to  issue  a  statement, 
my  curb  broker  purchased,  for  customers  of 
my  office,  several  large  blocks  of  Boston-Ely 
stock  at  from  $3  to  $3.25.  To  guard  against 
Lawson's  short  selling,  he  insisted  that  de- 
livery of  the  certificates  should  be  made  before 
the  close  of  the  business  day  and  the  broker 
of  whom  he  bought  agreed  to  this.  Bear  this 
fact  in  mind. 

At  noon  the  Boston-Ely  directors  adjourned 
and  issued  a  statement,  signed  by  the  secretary, 
which  was  at  once  published  in  the  financial 
newspapers  and  sent  out  on  the  curb  ticker. 
It  was  as  unique  a  statement  in  its  way  as  had 

375 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

been    the   District   Attorney's   letter,    printed 

in  the  morning  papers.      It  read,  the  italics 

being  mine: 

The  directors  of  the  Boston-Ely  Mining  Company 
greatly  deplore  the  unwarranted  and  unfortunate  manip- 
ulation to  which  the  stock  of  the  company  has  recently 
been  subjected.  We  regret  that  the  stock  has  been 
made  the  target  of  so  much  spectacular  notoriety. 
There  have  been  no  recent  developments  of  consequence  at 
the  mine,  and  we  hope  that  the  unusual  activity  in  the 
stock  may  cease  and  that  no  further  attempt  to  advance 
its  price  may  be  made  until  better  warranted  by  actual 
results  at  the  property. 

I  at  once  telephoned  El  well.  'I  wash  my 
hands  absolutely  of  the  Boston-Ely  stock," 
I  said.  "And  when  the  market  has  closed 
to-day  I  want  you  to  come  to  see  me.  I've 
got  a  number  of  things  to  say  to  you." 

I  instructed  my  curb  broker  to  buy  no  more 
Boston-Ely.  Other  brokers  followed  my 
example.  Before  the  market  closed  that  day 
Boston-Ely,  which  had  been  at  $3.50  in  the 
morning,  sold  at  $1.50. 

It  was  just  before  five  o'clock  that  the  large 
blocks  of  stock  bought  through  my  personal 
curb  broker  while  the  Boston-Ely  directors 
were  in  session  formulating  their  ''bear" 
letter  were  delivered  at  my  office. 

376 


AN   UNEXPECTED   STAB 

My  assistant  office  manager  receipted  for 
the  package  of  certificates  and  idly  turned 
them  over  to  see  if  they  were  properly  endorsed. 
The  name  that  he  read  on  the  backs  was  such 
as  to  send  him  up  from  his  chair  as  though  on  a 
spring,  and  he  did  not  stop  to  rap  upon  my 
door  as  he  rushed  into  my  office  and  laid  the 
certificates  on  the  desk. 

"Look  at  that  name!  There's  the  story!" 
He  cried. 

I  stared  at  the  autograph,  which  appeared 
over  and  over  again  on  many  of  the  certificates. 
It  was  a  name  I  had  heard  many  times  in  the 
last  few  days. 

The  certificates  were  issued  in  the  name  of  and 
endorsed  by  Charles  H.  Farnsworth. 


377 


Chapter  XL 
A  BITTER  INTERVIEW 

WHILE  I  still  stared  incredulously  at  the 
name,  one  of  my  clerks  entered,  saying: 
"Mr.  Elwell  to  see  you,  Mr.  King." 

"Show  him  in,"  I  said,  and  my  assistant 
office  manager  withdrew.  Elwell  came  in 
hurriedly.  His  face  was  white.  There  were 
lines  about  his  eyes.  He  looked  as  though  he, 
too,  had  passed  a  bad  day. 

Neither  of  us  smiled  or  wasted  time  in  per- 
functory greetings.  'Well?"  I  said,  I  fear 
without  much  courtesy. 

"I  did  the  best  I  could,  Mr.  King,"  he  said, 
nervously.  "I  couldn't  stop  the  directors 
from  passing  that  resolution." 

"  Did  you  protest  as  strongly  as  you  could  ?" 

"I  certainly  did.  I  did  everything  in  my 
power  to  prevent  that  resolution  being  passed. " 

"Did  you  tell  them  you  would  not  be  a 
party  to  any  such  dirty  work — that  you  would 
resign  if  they  passed  the  resolution — that  you 
would  leave  them  and  join  hands  with  me  in 
exposing  the  whole  tricky  deal?" 

378 


A  BITTER  INTERVIEW 


"No,  I  didn't  go  quite  as  far  as  that." 

"Why?" 

"Now,  see  here,  Mr.  King,"  said  Elwell. 
"I've  acted  in  good  faith  in  this  whole  matter. 
I  believed  when  we  went  into  it  that  it  would  be 
a  successful  campaign.  I  believed  the  stock 
would  go  to  over  five  dollars,  and  stay  there. 
You  know  why  I  believed  it — because  of  the 
inside  information  I  had  as  to  conditions  at 
the  mine.  I  had  no  idea  the  other  directors 
would  take  this  attitude." 

"Why  did  they?" 

"From  reasons  of  ultra-conservatism,  I 
suppose." 

"They  knew  all  the  facts  about  the  value 
of  the  property  that  you  told  me?" 

"Yes.     Certainly." 

"And  in  the  face  of  that  they  issued  this 
statement  to-day  to  deliberately  'bear'  their 
own  stock — the  stock  that  they,  as  directors, 
should  do  their  best  to  hold  at  a  fair  and 
proper  price — the  stock  that  they  themselves 
paid  more  than  $2.50  a  share  for.  They  de- 
liberately lied  over  their  signatures  as  directors 
as  to  the  developments  at  the  mines,  did  they  ? 
They  said  they  hoped  the  unusual  activity 
might   cease.       Why?       Why?       Was   their 


379 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

scheme  to  keep  the  price  down  until  they  could 
shake  out  the  very  stockholders  who  bought 
on  their  recommendation?  Or  did  they  sell 
their  own  stock  and  then  'bear'  the  market 
with  that  outrageous  official  statement  so  that 
they  could  buy  in  again  at  the  depreciated 
price  r 

"Now,  Mr.  King,"  protested  Elwell. 
'That's  going  too  far.  I  feel  certain  none  of 
our  directors  would  do  that." 

"You  do,  eh?  How  about  Mr.  Charles  H. 
Farnsworth,  director  of  Boston-Ely,  and  also 
a  director  of  the  Fourth  National  Bank?" 

"His  reasons  for  opposing  the  advertising 
campaign  were  undoubtedly  that  he  didn't 
wish,  as  a  conservative  banker,  to  have  his 
name  mixed  in  such  a  matter.     He  said  so." 

"He  said  so,  did  he?  Well,  what  would 
you  say  if  I  told  you  that  your  conservative 
banker,  Mr.  Charles  H.  Farnsworth  of  the 
Fourth  National  Bank,  sold  blocks  of  his  own 
stock  to-day  at  the  highest  'price  before  he 
helped  in  the  issuing  of  the  letter  that  sent  the 
price  down  to  where  it  was  before  the  boom?" 

"I   couldn't   believe   it." 

I  threw  one  of  the  certificates  bearing  Farns- 
worth's  name  on  the  desk  before  Elwell. 

380 


A   BITTER   INTERVIEW 

"  Read  the  endorsement  on  the  back  of  that 
certificate,"  I  said.  "And  the  name  on  this 
one.  And  on  this  one.  And  on  this  one." 
I  threw  down  the  whole  lot.  "And,  further 
than  that,  it  is  entirely  improbable  that  my 
broker  happened  to  buy  all  that  he  sold,  or 
even  a  slight  proportion  of  what  he  sold." 

Elwell  read  the  name.  He  turned  the  cer- 
tificates over  and  over  in  his  hands,  which 
trembled. 

"I  wouldn't  have  believed  it,"  he  said.  "I 
wouldn't  have  believed  it." 

He  seemed  dazed.  "How  did  you  get 
possession  of  these?"  he  finally  asked. 

"  They  came  to  me  in  the  ordinary  course  of 
business.  In  order  to  prevent  short  selling 
my  curb  broker  demanded  immediate  delivery 
on  a  block  of  stock,  and  these  were  delivered. 
When  your  precious  conservative  banker  Farns- 
worth  sent  those  certificates  to  the  curb  to  be 
sold  he  didn't  think  the  actual  certificates 
bearing  his  name  would  be  delivered.  He 
thought,  of  course,  that  they  would  be  first 
transferred  to  some  other  name.  Least  of  all 
did  he  suppose  the  evidence  of  his  double- 
dealing  would  come  directly  into  my  office." 

"That  is  strange,"  murmured  Elwell. 

381 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

"Strange!  It's  providential!"  I  cried. 
"The  evidence  has  been  placed  right  in  my 
hands  that  enables  me  to  show  up  the  whole, 
dirty,  rascally  scheme." 

"You  wouldn't  do  that?" 

"  I  wouldn't  ?  Watch  to-morrow  morning's 
papers  and  you'll  see  whether  I  will  nor  not." 

"What  are  you  going  to  do?" 

"I'm  going  to  print  the  whole  story.  I'm 
going  to  give  your  fine,  conservative  board  of 
directors  something  to  think  about — and  to 
explain." 

"Don't  do  that,"  pleaded  Elwell.  "We 
can  probably  arrange  the  matter  somehow  so 
you  won't  be  a  loser  by  the  transaction." 

"  So  I  won't  be  a  loser  ?  How  about  the  in- 
vestors that  have  followed  my  advice  and 
bought  Boston-Ely  at  from  $2  to  $3.50  a 
share  ?  Can  you  arrange  it  so  they  won't  be 
losers  ?  How  about  the  profit  I  would  have 
made  from  this  transaction  if  it  hadn't  been  for 
your  conservative  bankers  and  manufacturers, 
who  think  it  sensational  to  advertise  the  truth 
about  their  mine,  but  not  dishonest  to  sell 
stock  at  the  top  and  then  'bear'  it  to  a  lower 
price,  where  they  can  buy  in  at  a  profit  of 
thousands  of  dollars  ?     How  are  you  going  to 

382 


A  BITTER   INTERVIEW 

pay  my  customers  back  the  thirty  or  fifty 
thousand  dollars  they  have  invested  through 
my  office?  How  are  you  going  to  square  the 
thousands  of  other  investors  who  followed  my 
advice  but  bought  through  other  brokers  ? 
How  are  you  going  to  pay  me  the  six  or  seven 
thousand  dollars  I  have  expended  in  advertis- 
ing ?  How  are  you  going  to  reimburse  me  the 
hundred  thousand  or  more  dollars  that  I 
would  have  made  personally  but  for  this  vile, 
underhanded  treachery  ?  " 

I  was  walking  the  floor  as  I  talked,  and  I 
said  other  things  along  the  same  line.  Elwell's 
face  worked  with  emotion.  Finally  he  broke 
in: 

"Mr.  King,  I  beg  that  you  won't  tell  the 
whole  story  in  the  papers  to-morrow." 

"Why  not?" 

"Think  of  the  trouble  it  will  make." 

"Think  of  the  trouble  that  has  been  made 
me!"  I  retorted. 

"Good  heavens!  I'll  lose  my  seat  on  the 
stock  exchange  if  this  ever  gets  out." 

"I  suppose  that's  a  reason  why  I  should  sit 
quietly  and  take  all  the  blame, "  I  said. 

"And  think  what  it  will  do  to  the  Fourth 
National  Bank.     No  bank  is  very  strong  these 

383 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

days.  There  is  a  panicky  feeling  everywhere. 
It  won't  take  but  a  word  to  start  a  run,  and  if 
you  let  it  get  out  that  Farns worth — " 

Elwell  hesitated.  I  supplied  the  remainder 
of  the  sentence. 

"If  I  print  the  fact  that  Farnsworth,  a 
director  of  the  Fourth  National  Bank,  engi- 
neered the  manipulation  of  stock  in  a  company 
of  which  he  was  director,  to  the  extent  of  selling 
his  own  holdings  and  then  issuing  a '  bear'  state- 
ment, thereby  causing  a  loss  of  thousands  of 
dollars  to  investors  and  making  a  comfortable 
little  sum  himself — if  I  print  that,  you  think 
it  will  cause  a  run  on  the  Fourth  National, 
with  all  kinds  of  consequences  to  the  bank — 
and  your  good  friend  Farnsworth." 

Elwell  nodded. 

'What  do  I  care  for  Farnsworth  or  his 
bank  ?"  I  exclaimed.  "  What  do  I  care  for  all 
the  rest  of  the  directors?  As  much  as  they 
cared  for  me." 

"I  had  no  knowledge  of  this,"  pleaded 
Elwell.  'I  have  acted  honestly  with  you. 
Think  of  my  position.  I  am  not  a  rich  man. 
I  have  a  family  that  would  feel  very  badly  if  I 
became  mixed  in  a  scandal  of  this  sort.  I 
cannot  afford  to  lose  my  stock  exchange  seat. 

384 


A   BITTER   INTERVIEW 

You  believe  I  have  been  honest,  don't  you?" 
"Yes,"  I  admitted.  "I  believe  you  have 
intended  to  be  honest.  I  believe  you,  too,  are 
something  of  a  victim  in  this  matter.  But  I 
do  not  believe  you  were  firm  enough  to-day. 
You  should  have  stopped  the  issuing  of  that 
statement  or  tendered  your  own  resignaion 
and  told  the  truth." 

"  I  didn't  know  about  this  Farnsworth  stock 
then, "  said  Elwell.  "  I  didn't  know  of  it  until 
just  now,  when  you  showed  it  to  me.  If  I 
had,  I  could  have  acted  differently.  I  really 
thought  it  was  conservative  pressure  that  was 
influencing  the  directors." 

"They  '  double-crossed'  you,  too,  eh?" 
"It  looks  so."  Elwell  broke  out  on  a  new 
line.  "Let  us  put  off  action  on  this  matter 
until  to-morrow.  Let's  hold  on.  I'm  not 
sure  the  campaign  is  broken.  Perhaps  the 
price  can  still  be  advanced  to  what  it  should  be 
— and  you  and  all  your  customers  come  out 
all  right." 

"If  I  knew  it  could  I  wouldn't  have  any- 
thing to  do  with  the  stock  now,"  I  replied. 
"I  wash  my  hands  of  the  whole  matter  from 
this  minute.  I  cease  to  have  any  connection 
with  the  Boston-Ely  Company  from  this  hour. 

385 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

Hold  on?  Why,  I  wouldn't  trust  your  direc- 
torate across  the  street.  I  don't  care  what 
banks  or  companies  they  are  officers  of,  I 
wouldn't  have  any  dealings  with  them  under 
any  circumstances.  Hold  on  ?  If  you  en- 
countered a  bed  of  diamonds  in  your  mine,  or  a 
vein  of  solid  gold  a  foot  thick,  I  believe  your 
directors  would  cover  up  the  discovery  and 
'bear'  the  market  until  they  could  buy  in  all 
the  stock  themselves.  With  a  board  of  directors 
like  that,  what  show  has  the  public  ?" 

"You  are  interested  in  the  stock,  person- 
ally," said  Elwell.  "You  hold  a  'call'  for 
thirty  thousand  shares  at  seventy-five  cents." 

"  You  are  welcome  to  it — when  I  get  through 
with  my  publicity,"  I  said.  "Thank  God  I 
did  not  sell  a  share  of  it  when  the  price  was 
high." 

"I — I  sold  a  little  of  it  for  your  account," 
stammered  Elwell. 

"You— what?" 

"I  sold  a  little  of  it  for  your  account." 

"  If  you  made  any  money  for  me,  that  money 
shall  go  toward  paying  back  the  losses  of  the 
investors,"  I  said.  "I  don't  understand  how 
you  came  to  do  it.  I  have  not  bought  a  single 
share  under  the  call." 

386 


A  BITTER  INTERVIEW 

"There  wasn't  any  profit,"  El  well  added. 
1  When  the  market  went  off  I  supported  it  with 
some  buying  orders.  As  I  figure  it,  your 
account  is  about  square.' ' 

"As  /  figure  it,"  I  said,  "I  hold  a  'call'  for 
thirty  thousand  shares  of  which  I  have  not 
bought  a  share.  You  are  welcome  to  it — 
after  I  am  through  with  it." 

Darkness  had  fallen  and  the  afternoon  was 
merging  into  evening.  Elwell  continued  to 
plead  with  me  not  to  make  the  details  of  the 
transaction  public.  For  a  long  time  I  was 
obdurate.  He  wanted  me  to  see  Farns worth. 
I  said  I  did  not  want  to  see  Farnsworth — that 
I  did  not  believe  I  could  keep  my  temper  if  he 
and  I  should  meet  face  to  face.  Finally,  after 
much  urging,  I  said  I  would  be  at  my  office  if 
Farnsworth  came,  that  evening.  Still  I  said 
that  I  should  publish  the  full  story  of  the 
deal. 

Elwell  begged  me  not  to  do  this.  He 
actually  wept.  After  a  time  he  spoke  of  his 
domestic  relations — of  his  family — of  how 
they  would  feel  if  he  was  ruined,  if  he  lost  his 
stock  exchange  seat.  He  offered  to  do  any- 
thing in  his  power  to  avoid  this. 

"Of  course  you   understand,   Elwell,   that 

387 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

every  customer  of  my  office  must  have  his 
money  back,"  I  said.  'That  I  have  to  do, 
anyway.  I  have  never  led  investors  into  a 
trap  in  my  life;  I  am  too  old  to  begin  now.  I 
shall  have  my  bookkeepers  figure  up,  to-night, 
how  many  people  bought  stock  through  me, 
and  shall  buv  their  stock  back  of  them  at  the 
price  they  actually  paid,  including  brokerage 
commissions  on  the  curb.  No  living  soul  shall 
be  able  to  say  that  he  or  she  has  lost  by  follow- 
ing my  advice  under  circumstances  like  this. 
I  shall  announce  this  decision  to-morrow 
morning." 

'That  will  cost  you  thousands  of  dollars," 
said  Elwell.  "It  isn't  necessary  to  do  that. 
Others  don't." 

"I'm  different  from  the  others,"  I  said. 

Then  I  acceded  partially  to  his  pleadings. 
I  was  tired  and  worn,  and  one  of  the  bitter, 
blind  headaches  which  had  been  troubling  me 
greatly  of  late  was  coming  on.  "I  shall 
announce  that  every  purchaser  through  my 
office  will  receive  his  money  back,"  I  said, 
'but  I  will  wait  until  to-morrow  before 
deciding  what  to  do  about  making  the  whole 
deal  public.  You  may  come  to  see  me  in  the 
morning." 

388 


A  BITTER  INTERVIEW 

"And  Mr.  Farnsworth?" 

"  If  Farnsworth  wants  to  see  me  he  will  find 
me  here  to-night.  I  don't  know  what  good 
it  will  do.  I  shall  probably  only  say  things  to 
him  he  will  not  want  to  hear.  My  temper 
isn't  as  good  as  it  was  this  morning,  and  it  isn't 
improving  as  the  hours  go  by." 

El  well  rose  and  went  out.  In  my  outer 
office  were  several  of  my  lieutenants,  who  were 
awaiting  the  result  of  the  protracted  interview. 
They  said  he  was  gray  about  the  lips  and  that 
he  staggered  a  little  as  he  passed  through  the 
room. 


389 


Chapter  XLI 
THE  RULES   OF  THE   GAME 

WITH  two  of  my  trusted  assistants  I 
went  to  dinner  at  Young's.  There 
I  told  them  what  had  happened, 
showed  them  the  "call"  bearing  Elwell's 
name,  and  asked  their  opinion. 

"You  can't  do  anything  legally,  I  suppose," 
said  one,  "but  you  can  make  things  most 
tremendously  unpleasant  for  one  Elwell  and  one 
Farnsworth — and,  by  inference,  for  all  the 
other  directors.  That  won't  get  you  your 
money  back,  however." 

I  turned  to  the  other.  He  pondered  for 
several  moments. 

"  The  stock  exchange  game  is  a  cruel  game, " 
he  said.  "  I  don't  believe  in  it  any  more  than 
you  do,  but  you  seem  to  have  got  into  it,  and 
my  advice  is  to  play  it  out — to  quote  a  favorite 
Lawson  expression — *  according  to  the  rules.' 
Mr.  Elwell  undoubtedly  is  a  very  nice  young 
man.  I'm  inclined  to  think  he's  honest  in  this 
matter.  Mr.  Farnsworth  stands  very  high  in 
the  community,  but  it's  impossible  to  think  he 

390 


THE  RULES   OF  THE   GAME 

has  acted  squarely.  You  have  got  up  against 
a  stock  exchange  game,  and  it  has  been  played 
as  it  always  is  played  by  professionals — without 
heart,  soul  or  conscience.  It  seems  to  me  the 
question  now  is,  '  What  would  they  do  if  they 
had  you  in  the  same  place  that  you  have 
them?'  I'll  tell  you  what  they  would  do. 
They  would  take  every  penny  you  had.  They 
would  make  you  pay  them  every  penny  they 
had  lost,  and  every  penny  you  had  prevented 
them  from  making.  They  would  come  out  to 
your  home  at  Brookline  and  take  the  paper 
off  the  wall,  and  the  furniture,  and  the  beds — 
and  let  you  go  out  and  sleep  on  the  grass. 
And  if  you  asked  them  for  mercy  they  would 
ask  you  if  you  thought  you  were  playing  a 
children's  game,  and  remind  vou  that  when 
they  gambled  it  was  always  'for  keeps.' 
That's  what  they'd  do  to  you.  And  if  you 
want  my  advice,  it  is  that  you  do  to  them  as 
they  would  do  to  you." 

"What  is  that?"  I  asked. 

"If  I  were  you  I  should  say  to  Mr.  Elwell 
and  Mr.  Farnsworth :  '  G  entlemen,  we  have  no 
quarrel.  I  will  concede  that  you  are  honest 
men.  Unfortunately,  however,  we  have  had  a 
little  misunderstanding  in  our  business  rela- 

391 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

tions.  Here,  Mr.  Farnsworth,  is  a  big  block 
of  your  stock,  sold  at  the  highest  price  while 
you  were  in  a  directors'  meeting  getting  ready 
to  'bear'  the  stock  so  you  could  buy  in  at  a 
much  cheaper  price  and  clean  up  a  big  profit 
at  the  cost  of  innocent  investors.  We  appre- 
ciate, you  and  I,  that  if  I  were  to  make  the 
details  of  this  transaction  public  at  this  time, 
when  the  banks  are  shaky,  it  would  probably 
cause  a  run  on  the  Fourth  National.  Undoubt- 
edly your  bank  would  weather  the  storm — 
but  you  wouldn't.  That  stock,  and  the  infor- 
mation regarding  the  circumstances  under 
which  I  bought  it,  is  for  sale  to  you — at  a  fair 
price. 

"'Here,  Mr.  Elwell,  is  a  little  "call"  for 
thirty  thousand  shares  of  Boston-Ely  stock  at 
seventy-five  cents.  It  bears  your  signature,  and 
you  are  the  member  of  the  board  of  directors  of 
the  Boston-Ely  Mining  Company  authorized  to 
market  the  stock.  It  will  undoubtedly  be  very 
painful  for  you  to  have  the  details  of  this  trans- 
action reach  the  ears  of  the  business  public. 
It  will  also  be  painful  to  Messrs.  Keith,  Robin- 
son, Smith,  Williams  and  Smith,  who  are  all 
highly  conservative  and  honorable  business 
men,   and  who  will   be  grieved  to  have  the 

392 


THE   RULES   OF  THE   GAME 

public  think  they,  too,  were  in  on  the  scheme. 
Of  course  we  understand  they  were  not,  but 
that  is  unfortunate  for  them.  This  "  call, "  and 
all  the  details  of  how  I  came  to  possess  it,  are 
for  sale  to  you — at  a  fair  price.' 

"  I  would  then,  in  a  friendly  manner,  take  up 
the  question  of  price  with  them.  I  would  say, 
'Investors  who  bought  Boston-Ely  on  my 
advice  have  lost  something  like  forty  thousand 
dollars.  I  have  repaid  it  to  them.  I  feel  it  is 
necessary  to  get  that  back.  From  inside  infor- 
mation possessed  by  you  gentlemen  you  are 
aware  that  Boston-Ely  is  worth  more  than 
five  dollars  a  share — therefore  I  think  you 
should  be  willing  to  purchase  that  "  call"  from 
me  for,  say,  $150,000.  To  put  it  in  simple 
language  I  ask  you,  as  a  matter  of  fairness  and 
justice,  to  pay  all  those  who  have  lost  by  your 
action  their  money  back,  and  to  pay  me  the 
profits  I  should  have  made  had  you  not  taken 
the  action  you  did.  You  have  twelve  hours 
to  decide.'  " 

"That  sounds  something  like  blackmail," 
I  said. 

"It  is  nothing  of  the  sort,"  protested  my 
assistant,  warmly.  "It  is  exactly  what  they 
would  do  to  you.     It  is  what  is  always  done  in 

393 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

the  stock  market  game  when  a  man  is  caught 
'short.'  " 

"It  would  ruin  Elwell." 

"That's  unfortunate  for  Elwell.  The  only 
consolation  would  be  knowing  that  he  wouldn't 
hesitate  to  ruin  you,  under  the  same  circum- 
stances— and  may  have  come  dangerously  near 
doing  it,  as  it  is." 

"I  don't  like  that  way  of  doing  business," 
I  said.  "  I  have  always  carried  on  my  fighting 
in  the  open." 

My  lieutenant  shrugged  his  shoulders. 
"  You  asked  for  my  advice, "  he  said.  "  I  have 
given  it. 

His  companion  agreed  with  every  word  he 
had  said. 

"Well,"  I  said.  "I'll  decide  to-morrow. 
To-night  I  must  get  out  my  advertisement 
announcing  that  all  investors  who  bought 
Boston-Ely  through  my  office  will  receive  their 
money  back.  To-morrow  I'll  take  up  the 
matter  of  Elwell  and  Farnsworth." 

I  went  back  to  the  office,  where  I  received  a 
telephone  message  from  Elwell  announcing 
that  Farnsworth  had  some  engagement  with 
his  family  and  could  not  come  to  see  me  that 
night. 

394 


THE  RULES  OF  THE  GAME 

In  the  morning  appeared  my  advertisement 
notifying  all  investors  that  I  would  re-purchase 
their  stock  at  what  they  paid  for  it— an  adver- 
tisement and  an  action  unprecedented  in  the 
history  of  America's  financial  houses. 

Early  in  the  forenoon  came  El  well  again. 
Our  conversation  was  largely  a  repetition  of 
that  which  had  taken  place  the  night  before. 
In  the  end,  convinced  of  his  personal  honesty 
in  the  matter,  realizing  the  ruin  that  would 
befall  him  should  I  dictate  any  such  terms  as  I 
had  been  advised  to  lay  down,  and  sick  of  the 
whole  disgraceful  business,  I  tore  up  his 
"call,"  refrained  from  publishing  the  facts  and 
let  the  whole  matter  drop.  I  did  not  see 
Farns worth  at  all. 

What  the  real  cause  of  the  other  directors' 
action  in  issuing  the  "bear"  statement  was  I 
do  not  know  to  this  day.  I  believe  that  Farns- 
worth,  who  seems  to  have  been  the  most  active 
in  securing  the  issuing  of  the  letter,  learned  in 
some  manner  that  I  had  become  possessed  of 
the  large  block  of  stock,  that  he  realized  the 
tremendous  profits  that  would  some  day  accrue 
from  it,  and  that  he  felt  he  had  to  do  some- 
thing to  keep  those  profits  "in  the  family." 
His  selling  of  his  own  stock  at  the  high  price— 

395 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

and  presumable  purchase  of  an  equivalent 
number  of  shares  when  the  market  slumped — 
was,  I  imagine,  merely  incidental. 

At  any  rate,  the  campaign  was  a  failure.  I 
lost  thousands  of  dollars  and  much  prestige, 
although  my  customers  did  not  suffer.  Un- 
doubtedly I  could  have  made  those  concerned 
pay  me  scores  of  thousands  of  dollars — per- 
haps hundreds — as  my  assistant  had  outlined. 
But  my  spirit  rebelled  at  that  way  of  doing 
business.  So  I  sat  still  and  "stood  for  the 
double-cross." 

From  that  moment  I  can  trace  the  feeling  of 
depression,  of  uncertainty  as  to  action,  of  vague 
fears  and  tremblings,  which  were  the  fore- 
runners of  the  complete  physical  and  mental 
breakdown  that  finally  made  it  necessary  for 
me  to  make  an  assignment  and  to  go  away 
for  a  complete  rest  and  recreation. 

I  have  written  down  the  story  of  this  cam- 
paign in  no  feeling  of  revenge.  It  is  long  past, 
now.  Had  I  wished  for  revenge,  I  should  have 
taken  it  at  the  time. 

No.  I  am  merely  writing  history,  and  in 
writing  history  I  am  trying  to  set  down  all  the 
occurrences  just  as  they  were. 

I  was  just  and  merciful  to  El  well,  and  Farns- 

396 


THE   RULES   OF  THE   GAME 

worth,  and  to  the  rest  of  the  directors  of  the 
Boston-Ely  Mining  Company.  They  well 
know  that  I  am  an  honest  and  upright  man. 
To  my  withholding  of  my  hand  when  I  might 
have  struck,  William  D.  Elwell  probably  owes 
his  seat  on  the  stock  exchange.  To  my 
refusal  to  extract  the  pound  of  flesh  that  was 
mine  according  to  the  "rules  of  the  game," 
Charles  H.  Farnsworth  owes  his  continued 
high  position  in  the  world  of  banking  and 
business.     While  I  was  away,  seeking  strength 

yes,  life  itself— on  the  other  side  of  the  world, 

these  men  had  an  opportunity  to  speak  the 
word  of  truth  about  me  which  they  so  well 
knew.     Let  us  see  how  they  did  it. 

When  I  was  thousands  of  miles  from  home 
and  ignorant  of  all  that  had  been  done  to 
injure  me  and  mine  in  my  absence — when  my 
name  was  being  cried  through  the  streets  of 
Boston  by  newspapers  as  the  name  of  a  dis- 
honest man — some  rumor  of  this  Boston-Ely 
transaction  came  to  the  ears  of  newspaper 
reporters  who  sought  for  facts  and  were  willing 
to  listen  to  both  sides. 

Reporters  of  at  least  two  papers,  going  to 
former  lieutenants  of  mine  who  knew  all  the 
details    of    the    transaction,    ascertained    the 

307 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

truth,  although  it  is  with  bitter  sorrow — being 
myself  a  newspaper  man — that  I  have  to 
recount  that  neither  newspaper  published  a 
word  of  what  was  learned.  It  was  popular  to 
publish  only  evil  regarding  me  in  those  days. 

These  reporters,  when  they  had  secured  the 
facts,  asked  both  Elwell  and  Farnsworth  as  to 
their  dealings  with  me.  Both  could  have  said 
a  friendly  word  for  the  man  who  was  merciful 
to  them  when  they  implored  mercy.  They 
could  have  spoken  a  sentence  that  would  have 
had  the  effect  of  easing  the  tempest  that  was 
beating  about  my  name.  Each  of  them,  I  am 
informed  by  the  newspaper  men  themselves, 
denied  me  absolutely. 

Elwell  said:  "I  may  have  bought  or  sold 
some  stock  in  the  market  for  King;.  Further 
than  that  I  never  had  any  dealings  with  him. 
Ours  is  a  conservative  house,  you  know." 

Farnsworth  said:  "King?  I  do  not  know 
the  man.  Sell  my  own  stock  during  King's 
advertising  campaign?  Certainly  not.  Not 
a  single  share." 

Both  Elwell  and  Farnsworth,  I  am  told, 
threatened  to  sue  the  newspapers  for  libel  if 
they  even  intimated  that  either  had  ever  had 
any  business  connection  with  me. 

398 


THE   RULES   OF  THE   GAME 

Thus  they  repaid  me  for  my  consideration. 
Had  I  taken  that  lieutenant's  advice,  given  me 
at  dinner  at  Young's  on  the  evening  of  the 
Boston-Ely  smash,  I  should  probably  have 
weathered  the  financial  storm,  and  perhaps 
escaped  the  illness  that  came  with  it.  No  one 
thing  had  more  to  do  with  my  breakdown,  I 
feel  certain,  than  the  Boston-Ely  campaign 
and  its  outcome. 


399 


Chapter  XLII 
RISING   WATERS 

IN  the  newspapers  of  Wednesday  morning 
appeared  my  offer  to  restore  to  every 
investor  in  Boston-Ely  through  my  office 
the  money  he  had  lost.  On  the  same  page  in 
every  paper,  prominently  displayed  directly 
across  from  my  announcement,  was  a  large 
advertisement  signed  by  Thomas  W.  Lawson 
and  headed : 

Buy — Nevada-Utah — Now 

The  Lawson  advertisement  stated  that  this 
was  a  fortuitous  time  to  purchase  Nevada- 
Utah,  and  predicted  that  the  price  of  the  stock 
was  about  to  advance  to  ten  dollars  a  share. 

The  campaign  which  that  advertisement 
inaugurated  was  a  failure,  as  were  one  or  two 
successors.  Lawson  had  seriously  injured  me 
— he  believed  he  had  so  crippled  my  resources 
that  I  was  no  longer  in  a  position  to  prosecute 
him — he  flaunted  his  belief  in  my  face  with 
this  advertisement — but  the  seed  of  warning  to 
investors  that  I  had  already  sown  had  sprouted 
in  the  soil.     Since  that  day  he  has  never  been 

400 


RISING  WATERS 

able  to  warm  over  the  Nevada-Utah  pro- 
motion, nor  repeat,  even  to  the  slightest  degree, 
the  1907  swindle  in  that  stock.  Nevada-Utah 
is  to-day  quoted  at  about  two  dollars  a  share, 
and  even  at  that  price  there  is  no  demand  for 
it  except  among  the  stock  speculators  who 
gamble  upon  whether  the  price  will  rise  or 
fall  a  fraction  of  a  point. 

But  I  had  little  time  to  watch  this  campaign, 
or  to  devote  to  Lawson  or  any  one  else  but  my- 
self, for  there  began  a  procession  of  attacks, 
most  of  them  indirect,  that  were  not  only 
annoying  but  serious  in  their  aggregate  effect 
upon  me  and  my  business. 

The  amount  of  time  and  thought  that  Law- 
son  had  devoted  to  planning  this  campaign 
against  me  can  only  be  judged  by  its  breadth 
and  the  energy  with  which  it  was  carried  out. 
It  lasted  for  more  than  six  weeks,  and  in  all 
that  time  there  was  hardly  a  move  in  the  con- 
tinuous succession  of  events  aimed  at  my  office 
that  the  public  could  have  recognized  as 
emanating  from  Lawson.  In  this  he  had 
planned  well;  at  last  he  had  come  to  realize 
that  no  attack  on  me  would  be  successful  in 
which  the  investing  public  could  see  his  hand. 

This  campaign  was  based  on  one  correct 

401 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

supposition — that  the  tremendous  expenses  of 
the  Boston  Daily  Tribune  had  greatly  lowered 
my  ready  resources,  and  that  the  panic  and 
my  subsequent  policy  of  advising  the  purchase 
of  listed  stocks  had  reduced  my  income  to  a 
point  far  below  the  expenses  of  my  business. 
The  policy,  then,  was  to  prevent  me  from  sell- 
ing any  securities  upon  which  I  could  make  a 
commission — to  wear  me  down  by  causing  me 
to  lose  money.  Lawrson  hoped  that  he  could 
cause  me  to  fail — to  "break"  me — and  in  this 
manner  to  remove  the  only  thorn  that  had  ever 
seriously  rankled  in  his  side. 

The  first  move  was  made  by  my  former 
employee,  Love,  who  now  had  an  office  in  State 
Street. 

Letters  were  written,  offering  to  sell  blocks 
of  certain  stocks  at  certain  prices.  Peculiarly 
enough — as  it  would  seem  to  one  not  under- 
standing  the  purpose  of  the  circulars — the 
stocks  named  were  only  the  stocks  for  which  I 
was  the  financial  agent,  and  the  list  included  all 
the  stocks  offered  by  my  office.  The  prices  at 
which  these  securities  were  offered  were  from 
one-fifth  to  one-third  the  price  obtaining  at 
that  time.  And,  again  peculiarly  enough, 
the    letters    offering    these    securities    at    these 

402 


RISING   WATERS 

impossible  prices  were  mailed  to  my  entire  list  of 
customers. 

It  will  strike  the  reader  as  somewhat  odd 
that  the  complete  list  of  thousands  of  customers 
of  my  office  should  be  in  the  possession  of 
Love  or  any  other  person  outside  my  office. 
Without  attempting  to  explain  the  matter, 
I  will  merely  say  that  I  never  either  sold,  gave 
away  or  loaned  a  list  of  my  customers.  The 
names  of  his  customers  are  sacredly  con- 
fidential with  a  business  man.  Whoever  took 
them  out  of  my  office  did  so  without  my  con- 
sent or  knowledge.  In  other  words,  they 
were  stolen. 

Of  course  a  great  many  persons  who  received 
the  letters  attempted  to  buy  the  stocks  offered, 
at  the  absurdly  low  prices  quoted.  And  of 
course  they  received  courteous  replies  in  which 
the  writer  regretted  to  be  obliged  to  state  that 
all  the  stock  of  that  company  had  been  sold 
just  prior  to  the  receipt  of  their  letters,  but 
adding  that  these  were  fair  prices  for  the 
securities  and  that  if  they  would  wait  they 
could  undoubtedly  purchase  at  those  figures. 

Thus,  while  they  bought  no  stock  from 
Love,  they  were  prevented  from  buying  any 
through  my  house.     And  what  was  of  greater 

403 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

injury,  they  deluged  me  with  letters  asking  how 
it  happened  that  these  stocks  could  be  sold  at 
such  prices.  This  kept  me  busy  informing 
them  that  the  securities  were  not  selling  at 
the  quotations  Love  gave,  which  statement 
some  undoubtedly  did  not  believe,  and  took  up 
a  great  deal  of  my  time  that  I  might  have 
given  to  other  things. 

It  was  during  this  campaign,  or  just  prior  to 
it,  that  one  of  my  employees  reported  to  his 
direct  chief  that  Love,  attempting  to  secure 
his  assistance  in  some  manner,  had  said  that  he 
was  working  with  Lawson  and  had  volunteered 
to  introduce  the  employee  to  Lawson  and  make 
it  worth  his  while  to  cast  his  lot  away  from  me. 

Coincident  with  the  letters  sent  out  by  Love 
there  appeared  in  the  daily  newspapers  of 
Boston  advertisements  signed  by  several  small 
and  irresponsible  brokers,  offering  King- 
Crowther  and  other  stocks  with  which  my 
name  was  identified,  at  impossibly  low  prices. 
The  result,  when  readers  attempted  to  buy, 
was  the  same  as  in  Love's  case — they  were 
informed  that  they  were  too  late,  and  that  a 
previous  purchaser  had  secured  the  bargains. 

I  will  give  one  illustration,  which  might  be 
multiplied  by  scores. 

404 


RISING   WATERS 

One  Sunday  a  small  broker  named  Wilson 
W.  Fay  offered  for  sale  twenty  shares  of  pre- 
ferred stock  of  the  Erie  Preserving  Company 
at  $50  a  share.  This  stock,  which  had  paid 
seven  per  cent  dividends  for  thirty-five  years, 
had  not  sold  for  less  than  $100  in  more  than  a 
generation. 

When  Fay's  office  opened  on  Monday  morn- 
ing, before  the  stock  could  possibly  have  been 
sold,  a  representative  of  my  office  who  was 
personally  unknown  to  Fay  made  inquiries  re- 
garding the  stock,  first  stating  that  he  did  not 
have  the  money  with  him  with  which  to  make  the 
purchase.  Fay  then  said  the  stock  had  not 
been  sold— that  it  was  for  sale  to  the  highest 
bidder— and  that  under  no  circumstances 
would  it  be  sold  until  the  close  of  business  that 
day,  when  the  person  offering  the  most  money 
would  get  it,  provided  that  offer  was  $50  or 

higher. 

Immediately— before  Fay  had  an  oppor- 
tunity to  see  another  customer— there  entered 
another  representative  of  my  office  as  a  witness. 
Then  the  first  representative,  producing  Fay's 
advertisement,  which  said  nothing  about 
"bids,"  but  offered  the  stock  for  sale  at  a  flat 
price  of  $50,   and  laying  beside  it  ten  one- 

405 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

hundred  dollar  bills,  demanded  that  Fay  either 
produce  the  stock  or  admit  that  he  had  none 
at  that  price. 

Fay  lost  his  temper — as  might  naturally  be 
expected — and  became  very  abusive.  My 
representative  kept  his,  laughed  at  the  broker 
and  requested  that  he  produce  the  stock  or 
admit  he  didn't  have  it  and  couldn't  get  it. 
After  considerable  talk,  Fay  said  he  would 
produce  it  within  fifteen  minutes,  sent  a  clerk 
out  to  get  it  from  "his  client,"  and  my 
representative  sat  down  to  wait.  Ten  minutes 
later  the  clerk  returned  and  said  that  the  client 
had  already  sold  it  at  private  sale. 

After  a  time  most  of  the  Boston  newspapers, 
discovering  what  kind  of  a  game  they  were 
being  made  parties  to,  refused  to  accept  these 
advertisements.  But  the  harm  had  been  done. 
The  offers  were  not  made  wholly  for  those  who 
might  want  to  accept  them,  but  also  to  be  read 
and  considered  by  holders  of  the  securities 
who  would  thus  be  led  to  think  that  the  price 
they  had  paid  me  was  excessive — to  destroy 
confidence  in  me. 

My  King-Crowther  market,  to  which  I  have 
previously  referred,  continued  to  be  conducted 
through    my    office.     In    the    daily    papers   I 

406 


RISING   WATERS 

announced  the  prices  bid  and  asked  for  the 
stock.  On  January  25  appeared  an  advertise- 
ment signed  by  Richard  J.  Burton — you  will 
remember  him  as  the  Lawson  former  secretary 
who  was  reported  as  being  so  active  in  the 
Boston-Ely  telephone  campaign  when  the 
honest  portion  of  the  directorate  was  being 
egged  on  to  put  a  stop  to  my  advertising — in 
which  he  not  only  announced  that  he  had  three 
hundred  shares  of  King-Crowther  to  sell  at  one- 
third  the  market  price,  but  that  eight  thousand 
more  were  on  the  way.  He  quoted  from  what 
purported  to  be  a  statement  by  me  regarding 
King-Crowther  that  was  false  on  its  face. 

First  I  tried  to  buy  the  three  hundred  shares 
he  had  advertised — without  success,  of  course. 
Then  I  asked  him  to  produce  the  statement  he 
had  quoted  as  being  made  by  me.  Then  I 
brought  suit  for  libel  against  him  for  $25,000. 

The  newspaper  which  had  printed  Burton's 
advertisement,  after  investigation,  disclaimed 
all  responsibility  and  expressed  its  regret  at  the 
occurrence,  on  January  28.  But  the  cor- 
rection naturally  did  not  reach  one-half  the 
people  who  had  read  the  original  advertisement 
— corrections  never  do. 

This  programme  of  annoyance  and  injury 

407 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

continued  day  after  day.  Lawson  pulled  the 
strings.  Burton,  Love,  the  not  too  scrupulous 
little  brokers  and  the  rest  of  the  marionettes 
danced.  My  expenses  ran  on  at  the  rate  of 
thousands  of  dollars  a  week,  while  the  receipts 
were  small. 

It  was  at  about  this  time  that  there  came 
to  me  a  piece  of  information  that  caused  me 
much  mental  distress. 

The  information  was  to  the  effect  that  Law- 
son  had  accurate  knowledge,  each  day,  as  to 
the  amount  of  my  bank  balance  in  the  Beacon 
Trust  Company. 

All  particulars  as  to  a  depositor's  account  in  a 
bank  are  supposed  to  be  sacredly  guarded  by 
the  officials  of  the  institution.  And  only  from 
the  bank,  in  this  instance,  could  the  informa- 
tion come,  for  even  my  own  cashiers  did  not 
know  the  amount  of  my  balance,  as  that  is  a 
matter  which  I  have  always  guarded  as  my  own 
personal  business.  An  expert  accountant 
could  not  figure,  from  my  books,  just  what  my 
balance  in  one  bank  was  on  any  particular 
day — yet  Lawson  knew  my  Beacon  Trust 
Company  balance  daily. 

President  Charles  B.  Jopp  of  the  Beacon 
Trust  Company,  in  those  days,  posed  as  being 

408 


RISING  WATERS 

at  least  partially  in  sympathy  with  me  in  my 
fight  against  the  forces  of  Thuggee.  He  had 
led  me  to  believe  that  I  had  his  good- will.  On 
one  or  two  occasions  when  I  had  considered 
changing  my  bank  he  had  gone  over  the  matter 
with  me  in  a  manner  to  cause  me  to  look  upon 
him  as  a  friend. 

I  do  not  know  who,  in  that  bank,  beside 
President  Jopp  knew  the  extent  of  my  daily 
balances.  It  is  immaterial,  for  it  was  his  duty 
to  protect  the  confidence  of  his  customers. 
The  fact  remains  that  Lawson  knew  every  day 
what  progress  he  was  making  in  wearing  down 
my  cash  resources. 

Not  only  as  an  illustration  of  the  far-flung 
line  which  Lawson  had  at  last  thrown  out  do  I 
tell  this  minor  incident  of  the  bank  treachery — 
but  as  indicative  of  the  wearing,  nerve-racking 
minor  things  that  were  piling  one  upon  the 
other  to  destroy  my  mental  balance  as  well  as 
my  personal  fortune. 

It  was  about  this  time  that  insomnia  began 
to  add  to  my  other  troubles — that  my  head- 
aches became  almost  constant — and  that  I 
became  vacillating  in  my  plans  where  there- 
tofore I  had  been  steadfast. 

Still  I  tried  to  be  optimistic.      I    tried    to 

409 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

believe  that  all  would  come  out  well.  It 
seemed  impossible  to  me  that  wrong  could  win 
from  right  or  dishonesty  triumph  over  justice. 
Yet  the  way  began  to  look  dark. 

One  night,  as  I  lay  sleepless,  the  thought 
came  to  me:  "  Can  this  be  the  beginning  of  the 
end?"  I  shuddered,  but  I  put  the  idea  from 
me.  "No,  no,"  I  said.  "It  cannot,  must 
not.     It  is  impossible — for  I  am  right.9' 

The  waters  of  the  deluge  continued  to  rise. 


410 


Chapter  XLIII 
THE  FLOOD 

ONE  night  President  Charles  T.  Bar- 
ney of  the  Knickerbocker  Trust  Com- 
pany of  New  York  committed  suicide. 
Within  a  few  hours  a  reporter  from  the  Boston 
Journal  was  sent  to  inform  me  that  it  was 
rumored  all  over  town  that  Barney  had  exten- 
sive dealings  with  me,  and  that  it  was  through 
me  that  he  had  been  driven  to  end  his  own 
life. 

Now  I  never  had  the  slightest  dealings  with 
Barney,  had  never  seen  him,  do  not  know  that 
he  ever  heard  of  me  except  as  the  whole 
financial  public  has  heard  of  me,  and  so  far  as 
I  know  I  had  never  even  had  business  relations 
with  any  financiers  with  whom  he  dealt. 

This  story  of  my  connection  with  Barney's 
suicide,  I  found,  had  been  carefully  "planted" 
in  every  newspaper  office  in  Boston.  I  sup- 
pose Lawson  hoped,  owing  to  the  extreme 
lateness  of  the  hour,  that  some  paper  might  not 
take  the  trouble  to  look  it  up,  or  that  I  might 
chance  to  be  out  of  town  and  so  could  not  be 

411 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

interviewed,  in  which  event  some  paper,  fear- 
ing that  it  would  otherwise  be  "scooped," 
might  take  the  chance  of  giving  publicity  to 
the  rumor. 

This  was  one  of  the  most  sensational  of  the 
many  tales  that  Lawson  and  his  satellites 
kept  me  busy  denying.  Few  of  the  stories 
were  printed;  but  the  effect  of  the  continued 
necessity  of  denying  absurdities  was  like  the 
effect  of  dripping  water  upon  a  stone.  It  wore 
my  nerves  down — as  perhaps  was  the  intention. 

Rumors  were  rife  then  that  the  Post  Office 
authorities  were  investigating  my  business — 
that  a  fraud  order  was  about  to  be  issued 
against  me  and  against  the  King-Crowther 
Corporation.  The  ancient  Moses  story  was 
revived  from  time  to  time  and  sent  traveling 
its  old,  worn  path  about  the  city.  There  were 
incessant  reports  that  I  was  on  the  verge  of 
financial  ruin. 

About  once  in  three  or  four  days  some  friend 
or  acquaintance  would  tell  me  of  rumors  he  had 
heard  in  "the  Street"  as  to  what  MacFarland 
was  doing — Attorney  Grenville  S.  MacFarland, 
who  had  been  appointed  by  District  Attorney 
Moran  to  collaborate  with  Lawson  and  Law- 
son's  attorneys  in  preparing  the  "evidence" 

412 


THE   FLOOD 

against  me  and  presenting  it  to  the  Grand 
Jury. 

Lawson  had  turned  over  to  MacFarland 
more  than  a  thousand  pieces  of  evidence,  any 
one  of  which  would  convict  me. 

Lawson's  lawyers  and  MacFarland  had 
sorted  out  the  worst  of  the  incriminating  stuff 
and  were  on  the  point  of  presenting  it  to  the 
Grand  Jury. 

MacFarland,  asked  what  were  the  chances 
of  securing  a  conviction  against  me,  had 
shaken  his  head,  looked  unutterably  wise,  and 
said,  "Things  look  black  for  King." 

Lawson's  detectives — sent  up  and  down  the 
world  as  His  Satanic  Majesty  is  traditionally 
supposed  to  travel,  seeking  souls — had  ascer- 
tained by  actual  investigation  that  King- 
Crowther  was  a  fraud — that  it  possessed 
neither  properties  nor  oil — that  every  state- 
ment I  had  ever  made  regarding  the  corpora- 
tion was  sufficient  to  convict  me  of  obtaining 
money  under  false  pretenses. 

These  were  rumors  that  started  almost 
daily,  spread  up  and  down  "  the  Street,"  and 
eventually  reached  me. 

I  knew  that  neither  Lawson  nor  any  other 
man  had  any  such  evidence  as  rumor  credited 

413 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

him  with  having,  for  the  good  and  sufficient 
reason  that  it  did  not  and  could  not  exist. 

I  knew  that  Lawson's  detectives,  a  year 
before,  had  exhausted  their  ingenuity  and  vast 
sums  of  Lawson's  money  in  personal  investi- 
gations of  the  King-Crowther  properties — 
that  they  had  visited  the  town  of  Crowther, 
Texas — that  they  had  traversed  the  Ohio  and 
Indiana  properties  of  the  corporation  and 
counted  the  more  than  six  hundred  producing 
oil  wells  belonging  to  King-Crowther — that 
they  had  sought  high  and  low  for  dissatisfied 
stockholders — and  that  they  had  been  obliged  to 
report  that  the  corporation  was  sound  and  strong 
and  that  my  representations  regarding  it  and  its 
securities  had  been  conservative  and  truthful. 

I  knew  that  Lawson  could  not  have  turned 
over  to  MacFarland  any  evidence  against  me 
that  was  truthful — and  I  doubted  if  even  he 
would  dare  to  actually  manufacture  evidence. 

I  very  much  doubted  that  MacFarland  had 
ever  said  that  things  looked  black  for  me,  for 
while  I  do  not  know  the  young  man,  he  is 
reputed  seldom  to  express  decided  opinions — 
contenting  himself,  as  I  heard  an  associate  of 
his  once  say,  "with  looking  wiser  than  any 
living  man  ever  could  be." 

414 


THE  FLOOD 

MacFarland  is  quite  well  known  in  Massa- 
chusetts, although  people  have  heard  of  him 
as  a  politician  rather  than  as  an  attorney.  He 
was  one  of  the  managers  of  District  Attorney 
Moran's  campaign  for  Governor,  and  prior  to 
that  was  identified  with  other  campaigns. 
His  natural  manner,  I  have  always  been  told, 
is  mysterious.  "If  he  wanted  to  go  across  the 
street,  and  the  easiest  and  most  natural  way 
was  to  pass  out  of  the  front  door,  walk  directly 
across,  and  enter  the  front  door  opposite,  he 
would  climb  out  of  the  back  window  and  go 
around  the  square,  for  fear  somebody  would 
know  exactly  what  he  was  doing,"  is  the  way 
I  heard  a  politician  once  describe  him.  With 
this  in  mind,  I  discounted  the  story  that  he  had 
said  "Things  look  black  for  King."  In 
fact,  as  nearly  a  year  has  passed,  and  nothing 
has  come  of  the  evidence  which  was  to  have 
been  prepared  for  the  next  Grand  Jury,  it  is 
very  apparent  that  things  did  not  "  look  black." 

But  the  stories  kept  traveling.  The  rumor 
mill  was  working  overtime.  And  every  lie 
that  started  in  circulation  reached  its  hundreds 
of  thousands  and  injured  my  business. 

One  story  came  to  me  so  directly  that  I 
could   not   doubt   its    truth.     A   few   months 

415 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

before  I  would  have  laughed  at  the  idea.  Now 
I  was  worn  down  sufficiently  for  it  to  make  an 
impression. 

Lawson,  in  one  of  his  rages,  had  cursed  me 
with  all  the  practised  volubility  at  his  command 
and  had  ended : 

"I  shall  never  let  up  on  King  until  he  is 
either  in  stripes  or  in  a  suicide's  grave!" 

The  stripes  I  did  not  fear,  for  only  fictitious 
evidence  could  ever  procure  them  for  me. 
But  the  grave  of  a  suicide!  The  words 
haunted  me  in  the  long,  sleepless  nights. 

As  part  of  his  work,  Love,  now  a  full- 
fledged  sixteenth  assistant  to  Lawson,  got  a 
number  of  people  to  bring  suit  against  me. 

When  he  sent  out  his  circulars  offering  at  im- 
possible prices  the  stocks  with  which  my  name 
was  connected,  he  naturally  received  inquiries 
in  reply.  With  these  as  a  basis,  he  succeeded 
in  getting  a  few  of  my  old  customers  to  believ- 
ing that  they  had  been  imposed  upon.  He  told 
them  they  could  get  their  money  back  if  they 
would  send  their  claims  to  Whipple,  Sears  & 
Ogden,  attorneys-at-law. 

Whipple,  Sears  &  Ogden  are  rated  as  a 
highly  reputable  law  firm.  Sherman  L. 
Whipple,  the  head  of  the  firm,  is  supposed  to 

416 


THE   FLOOD 

be  one  of  the  most  eminent  attorneys  in  Boston. 
Therefore  it  is  to  be  presumed,  in  the  absence 
of  evidence  to  the  contrary,  that  Whipple, 
Sears  &  Ogden  acted  in  good  faith  in  adding 
their  weight  to  the  conspiracy  against  me. 
Presumably  they  were — and  are,  for  they  still 
are  participants — absolutely  ignorant  of  the 
fact  that  there  was  a  conspiracy,  and  that  Love, 
who  interested  them  and  advised  them,  was 
working  for  Lawson  to  bring  about  my  down- 
fall by  foul  means,  since  fair  means  would  not 
accomplish  it. 

These  former  customers  whom  Love  secured 
to  assist  in  the  campaign  naturally  did  not  come 
to  me  with  whatever  complaints  they  had  or 
thought  they  had.  My  first  formal  knowledge 
of  the  matter  came  in  the  nature  of  a  letter 
from  Whipple,  Sears  &  Ogden,  dictated  by 
Mr.  Sherman  L.  Whipple,  which,  after  stating 
that  he  was  acting  for  a  certain  customer  whom 
I  will  call  "Mrs.  Blank,"  and  that  she  held  a 
certificate  "for  'King-Crowther'  stock,  so- 
called,"  contained  the  following  most  remark- 
able language: 

In  order  intelligently  to  advise  Mrs.  Blank  we  desire, 
in  her  behalf,  pretty  full  information  with  regard  to  the 
"King-Crowther    Company"    and    the    "Norton    Oil 

417 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

Company."  We  wish  to  know  whether  the  dividends 
which  have  been  paid  in  the  name  of  these  companies, 
on  the  basis  of  which,  in  part,  she  was  induced  to  make 
her  purchase  and  subsequently  her  exchange  of  stock, 
were  actually  earned.  We  also  desire  to  know  what 
became  of  the  money  which  she  invested.  It  was  repre- 
sented to  her  that  she  was  purchasing  the  stock  of  the 
"Norton  Oil  Company"  from  the  corporation  itself,  so 
that  the  money  which  she  paid  went  directly  to  the 
treasurer  of  that  corporation.  We  desire  particularly 
to  ascertain  whether  this  actually  was  the  fact  or  whether 
she  purchased  stock  belonging  to  yourself,  the  money 
for  which  went  into  your  own  bank  account. 

As  a  stockholder  of  the  "  King-Crowther  Company" 
of  course  she  is  entitled  to  examine  the  books  of  the 
corporation  and  hereby  makes  a  request  that  she  be 
permitted  immediately  to  do  so.  While  perhaps  she  has 
not  the  legal  right  to  examine  your  books  to  see  what 
became  of  her  money,  we  assume  that  you  will  be  glad 
to  permit  her  to  examine  them  so  far  as  may  be  necessary 
to  satisfy  her  that  your  representations  were  correct. 

We  should  like  to  make  the  examination  of  the 
books  of  the  "King-Crowther  Company,"  in  Mrs. 
Blank's  behalf,  to-morrow  forenoon.  Will  you  be 
good  enough  to  inform  us  by  the  messenger  who  will 
bring  you  this  letter,  whether  that  will  be  a  convenient 
time  ?  If  not,  please  tell  us  when  it  will  be  convenient 
to  have  such  examination  made. 

When  I  had  swallowed  my  natural  indigna- 
tion at  the  insulting  tone  of  the  letter,  and 
calmed    down    sufficiently    to    reconsider    my 

418 


THE   FLOOD 

first  idea  of  replying  in  kind,  I  notified 
Whipple,  Sears  &  Ogden  merely  that  I  had 
referred  the  matter  to  my  attorney.  I  wrote 
Mrs.  Blank,  endeavoring  to  ascertain  what  she 
believed  to  be  her  grievance,  and  was  unsuc- 
cessful in  arranging  an  interview  with  her. 

My  attorney,  as  a  result  of  conferences  with 
Whipple,  Sears  &  Ogden,  and  with  me,  wrote 
Mr.  Wrhipple  that  the  books  could  be  seen  and 
copied  from  at  the  main  office  of  the  cor- 
poration, "  in  reference  to  pertinent  matters  in 
which  your  client  has  any  right  to  information 
fairly." 

"I  see  no  reason,"  wrote  my  lawyer,  "why 
the  examination  of  the  books  should  not  be 
made,  knowing  that  the  results  could  only 
be  entirely  favorable  to  the  corporation,  its 
affairs,  and  its  dealing  with  my  client,  and 
should  like  to  have  the  matter  definitely  ended 
one  way  or  the  other." 

Mr.  WThipple  replied  briefly,  intimating  that 
he  would  immediately  avail  himself  of  the 
privilege  of  examining  the  books.  So  far  as  I 
am  aware,  the  examination  has  not  been  made 
to  this  day. 

The  scheme  then  took  the  form  of  accumu- 
lating as  many  suits  as  possible  against  me, 

419 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

and  it  was  planned  to  bring  them  all  at  once,  in 
order  to  embarrass  me  in  the  matter  of  furnish- 
ing bonds  to  prevent  or  dissolve  attachments. 
It  appears  to  have  made  little  difference  what 
foundation  there  was  for  the  proposed  suits. 
Some  of  them  (they  were  brought,  a  dozen  or 
more  of  them,  soon  after  I  was  forced  to  assign) 
were  on  grounds  that  would  be  laughable  if  the 
matter  were  not  so  serious.  The  aggregate  of 
the  suits  was  approximately  $75,000. 

Other  suits  were  also  prepared,  through 
other  attorneys.  One  man  to  whom  I  had  sold 
some  stock  in  1904,  four  years  previously,  was 
induced  to  bring  suit  for  $9,000,  and  he 
secured,  with  all  possible  publicity,  an  injunc- 
tion to  prevent  me  from  withdrawing  money 
from  banks  where  I  had  funds  on  deposit 
and  to  prevent  me  from  selling  any  of  my 
personal  holdings  of  stock  of  the  King- 
Crowther  Corporation.  This  had  the  in- 
tended effect,  for  several  newspapers  "bit,"  as 
it  had  been  hoped  they  would,  and  announced 
that  I  was  enjoined  from  selling  any  more 
King-Crowther  stock — which  was  an  entirely 
different  matter. 

Immediately  following  this,  other  suits  were 
begun.     Nearly  a  year  previous  I  had  bought 

420 


THE   FLOOD 

an  automobile,  and  a  portion  of  the  bill  was  in 
dispute — less  than  five  hundred  dollars.  This 
was  traced,  and  the  man  who  sold  me  the  car 
was  induced  to  bring  suit  for  the  disputed 
amount  and  attach  my  bank  account. 

From  every  side  I  was  subjected  to  these 
annoyances,  which  not  only  tied  up  my  ready 
money  in  litigation  and  had  their  intended 
effect  of  injuring  me  in  the  public  eye — but 
worried  me  to  the  point  of  distraction. 

If  Lawson  knew  my  mental  condition  in 
those  days — and  I  doubt  not  he  had 
some  inkling  of  it — "a  suicide's  grave"  must 
have  loomed  large  in  his  mind  as  the  possible 
outcome  of  his  campaign.  How  pleased  he 
must  have  been  at  the  prospect! 

Amid  these  troubles  and  annoyances,  my 
time  was  so  taken  up  at  my  office  by  those 
who  had  heard  the  rumors  that  I  had  little  time 
to  consider  new  business  plans,  even  had  I 
been  mentally  fit  to  do  so.  It  was  not  an 
unusual  thing  for  some  person  to  take  a  half 
day  of  my  time  on  business  that  might  have 
been  transacted  in  a  few  minutes. 

One  instance  of  this  comes  to  my  mind. 

An  investor  bought  through  my  office  three 
shares  of  Sugar  Common.     Before  I  had  se- 

421 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

cured  the  transfer  of  the  stock,  he  ordered 
three  shares  more  and  requested  that  the  six 
shares  be  in  one  certificate.  Then,  before  this 
had  been  accomplished,  he  decided  to  buy 
eight  additional  shares,  and  said  he  wished 
one  certificate  to  cover  the  whole  fourteen 
shares. 

Dealing  in  listed  stocks  was  a  new  matter  to 
me.  Not  only  was  there  not  one  penny  of  profit 
in  the  transactions  to  me,  but  my  office  was 
unable  to  carry  out  the  business  with  the  same 
promptness  and  speed  as  a  regular  stock 
exchange  house.  My  clerical  force  was  not 
familiar  with  this  kind  of  business,  any  more 
than  I.  My  books  were  not  adapted  to  keep- 
ing track  of  these  transactions  as  completely 
and  quickly  as  the  books  of  a  stock  exchange 
house.  I  had  not  installed  stock  exchange 
systems  of  bookkeeping,  nor  had  I  engaged 
new  bookkeepers  familiar  with  this  form  of 
work,  for  I  was  buying  and  selling  listed  stocks 
for  my  customers  merely  as  a  matter  of  accom- 
modation, and  had  no  intention — as  I 
announced — of  continuing  to  do  so  except 
during  the  panic,  while  listed  securities  were 
selling  at  low  prices. 

Therefore  there  were  delays  that  perhaps 

422 


THE   FLOOD 

would  not  have  happened  in  the  business  of  a 
stock  exchange  house.  There  had  been  a 
delay  in  this  case  of  which  I  write — due,  how- 
ever, more  to  the  customer's  changes  of  mind 
as  to  how  many  shares  he  wished  in  one 
certificate  than  to  any  lack  of  facility  in  my 
office.  Finally,  just  as  he  had  made  his  final 
decision,  the  transfer  books  of  the  Sugar 
Corporation  closed  for  two  weeks,  and  it  was 
impossible  for  me  to  secure  his  transfer. 

One  day,  just  after  noon,  a  clerk  brought  in 
the  name  of  Mr.  Samuel  Ward.  Mr.  Samuel 
Ward  himself  followed. 

Mr.  Samuel  Ward  is  a  big  man  physically,  as 
well  as  in  the  business  world  of  Boston.  He  is 
the  head  of  the  Samuel  Ward  Company, 
stationers.  I  knew  him  by  sight,  although 
we  had  never  met. 

There  was  fire  in  his  eye  and  bluster  in  his 
voice.  "I  have  come,"  he  announced,  with- 
out preliminaries,  "to  get  the  fourteen  shares 
of  Sugar  Common  that  you  bought  for  Mr. 
Blank." 

I  asked  an  explanation,  and  it  appeared  that 
Mr.  Blank  was  a  relative  of  Mr.  Samuel  Ward, 
and  that  Mr.  Samuel  Ward  had  promised  him 
to  get  his  delayed  certificates. 

423 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

"I  have  come  for  that  stock  and  I'm  going 
to  stay  until  I  get  it,"  he  said. 

I  explained  how  the  delay  was  due,  first  to 
his  relative's  fluctuation  of  mind,  and  second  to 
the  closing  of  the  transfer  books.  He  would 
not  listen. 

"I  don't  want  explanations.  I  want  the 
stock,"  he  said. 

"Did  you  expect  me  to  have  it  in  my 
pocket?"  I  asked. 

"I  want  it.  You  know  who  I  am.  I'm 
Samuel  Ward.  And  I'm  going  to  stay  right 
here  until  I  get  it." 

I  attempted  to  prove  my  assertions  by  means 
of  my  cashier.  "I  am  not  interested  in  your 
cashiers,"  he  said,  "I  merely  want  the  stock." 

"My  dear  sir,"  I  said.  "There  is  not  a 
fourteen-share  certificate  at  this  moment  in 
the  office." 

"Then  get  it,"  he  replied.  "I  shall  remain 
here  until  you  do." 

"Where?" 

"Right  here."  And  he  plumped  himself 
down  in  a  chair  in  my  private  office. 

"Would  you  mind  waiting  in  the  reception 
room?"  I  asked.  "I  will  endeavor  to  secure 
the  stock  for  you.     In  the  meantime  there  are 

424 


THE  FLOOD 

a  dozen  or  so  people  who  wish  to  see  me." 

"I'll  wait  right  here,"  he  said,  belligerently. 
"  I'm  Samuel  Ward,  and  when  I  say  a  thing  I 
mean  it.  When  I  say  I'll  wait  here  I  mean  I'll 
wait  here — right  here." 

I  looked  Mr.  Samuel  Ward  over.  I  am  a 
pretty  big  man,  physically,  but  he  is  bigger. 
I  concluded  that  it  would  not  be  an  easy  matter 
to  put  Mr.  Ward  out — beside  which  I  had  no 
especial  desire  for  the  quarrel  he  seemed  to 
seek.  If  it  were  possible  to  get  Mr.  Samuel 
Ward's  relative's  stock  I  naturally  wanted  to 
do  it. 

"All  right,"  I  said.  "How  do  you  suggest 
that  I  get  it?" 

"I  don't  care  how  you  get  it — but  you're 
going  to  get  it  before  I  go  out  of  this  room. " 

Worried  as  I  had  been  for  many  days,  and  in 
no  condition  to  enjoy  a  joke,  the  thought 
flashed  through  my  mind  that  if  I  didn't  get 
the  stock  instantly  as  demanded  perhaps  Mr. 
Samuel  Ward  would  throw  a  bomb — as  Nor- 
cross  did  at  Russell  Sage  when  his  demand 
for  money  was  refused,  some  years  ago.  "  His 
overcoat,"  I  thought,  "is  big  enough  to  con- 
ceal it."  Then  I  dismissed  this  conceit  with 
an  inward  smile,  and  returned  to  the  subject. 

425 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

'You  ask  me  to  perform  a  rather  difficult 
feat,"  I  said.  "You  want  me  to  instantly 
deliver  to  you  a  certificate  for  exactly  fourteen 
shares  of  Sugar  Common.  I  have  plenty  of 
Sugar  Common  in  the  office,  but  no  certificate 
of  just  fourteen  shares.  And  you  say  you 
want  the  stock  in  Mr.  Blank's  name." 

"I'll  waive  that,"  said  Mr.  Samuel  Ward, 
most  generously,  considering  that  otherwise  he 
would  have  had  to  sit  in  my  office  something 
like  two  weeks,  until  the  transfer  books  were 
reopened.  "You  can  give  me  a  Street 
delivery." 

'Thank  you,"  I  said,  as  courteously  as  I 
could  under  the  circumstances.  "  Now  I  will 
try  to  get  you  fourteen  shares.  I  presume  you 
have  no  objection  to  my  telephoning  a  few 
brokers,  to  see  if  they  can  accommodate  you  ?" 

My  gentle  sarcasm  seemed  lost  on  Mr. 
Samuel  Ward.  "I  don't  care  what  you  do," 
he  said.  "I'm  going  to  stay  here  until  I  get 
the  stock." 

"Has  it  occurred  to  you,"  I  remarked,  as  I 
reached  for  the  telephone  book,  "that  you 
haven't  yet  presented  an  order  from  Mr. 
Blank  asking  me  to  deliver  you  his  stock?" 

"  I  don't  have  to, "  replied  Mr.  Samuel  Ward 

426 


THE   FLOOD 

promptly.  "I'll  sign  his  name  and  my  own 
to  the  receipt." 

I  turned  to  the  name  of  a  firm  of  brokers  in 
the  book  and  called  Mr.  Samuel's  Ward's 
attention  to  the  page,  the  name  and  the 
number.  Otherwise  so  suspicious  a  gentle- 
man might  fear  I  was  merely  conversing  with 
one  of  my  own  employees,  in  some  distant 
corner  of  my  offices.  Then  I  called  the  number. 

Yes,  the  brokers  told  me,  they  would  be  glad 
to  let  me  have  fourteen  shares  of  Sugar 
Common,  if  they  had  it.  They  would  look. 
No,  they  didn't  have  fourteen  shares  and  could 
not  get  just  that  amount  until  the  transfer 
books — .  Certainly,  they  would  try  to  get  it 
if  I  wished.  They  would  endeavor  to  borrow 
it  on  the  floor  of  the  exchange  and  would  let  me 
know  if  they  were  successful. 

Again  calling  Mr.  Samuel  Ward's  attention, 
in  each  case,  to  the  name  and  telephone 
number,  I  called  three  more  brokerage  houses 
and  the  same  conversation  ensued.  Within 
ten  minutes  four  brokers  were  scouring  the 
floor  of  the  stock  exchange,  endeavoring  to 
borrow  exactly  fourteen  shares  of  Sugar 
Common. 

Mr.    Samuel   Ward   waited   in   my  private 

427 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

office.  A  dozen  people  anxious  to  see  me 
waited  in  the  reception  room. 

Just  before  closing  time  on  the  exchange  I 
received  word  from  one  of  the  brokerage 
houses  that  they  had  secured  a  certificate  for 
fifteen  shares.  It  was  impossible,  they  said, 
to  get  one  for  fourteen.  I  turned  from  the 
telephone  and  asked  Mr.  Samuel  Ward  if  he 
would  take  the  fifteen-share  certificate  and 
buy  the  extra  share  at  the  quotation  of  that 
moment.  He  said  he  would.  I  instructed 
the  broker  to  send  the  certificate  up. 

When  it  arrived  Mr.  Samuel  Ward  was  still 
sitting  in  my  office.  I  turned  it  over  to  him 
and  took  his  receipt.  He  drew  out  a  check 
book  to  pay  me  for  the  extra  share. 

"That  isn't  necessary, "  I  said.  "I  would 
not  put  you  to  so  much  inconvenience.  You 
may  send  it  from  your  office  to-morrow,  in  the 
ordinary  course  of  business." 

Mr.  Samuel  Ward  had  the  grace,  at  that 
moment,  to  apologize  for  the  trouble  he  had 
caused  me.  He  sent  the  check  the  following 
dav. 

Now  this  is  what  Mr.  Samuel  Ward,  acting 
in  all  honesty  if  with  less  courtesy  than  is 
customary  in  business  transactions,  had  done: 

428 


THE  FLOOD 

He  had  lost  me  practically  a  whole  after- 
noon from  my  business. 

He  had  caused  waiting  customers  to  either 
leave  with  their  business  unattended  to  or  to 
feel  aggrieved  because  I  could  not  see  them. 

He  had  forced  me  to  buy  fourteen  shares  of 
Sugar  Common  for  delivery  to  his  relative 
at  a  higher  price  than  the  undivided  stock 
already  in  my  office  had  cost  Mr.  Blank. 

And  after  all  was  said  and  done,  there 
was  not  a  cent  of  profit  to  me  in  the  transaction 
even  at  the  price  Mr.  Blank  had  paid. 

I  tell  this  one  instance  in  full.  It  is  but  one 
of  many.  It  illustrates  how  honest  men  were 
unintentionally  assisting  Lawson  and  his  crew 
in  the  campaign  to  ruin  me. 

A  suicide's  grave  ?  They  were  all  bringing 
it  nearer. 


429 


Chapter  XLIV 
TO   BE   OR  NOT  TO   BE 

EARLY  in  February  I  made  arrangements 
to  undertake  the  financing  of  a  New  York 
corporation  whose  future  gave  promise  of 
great  brilliancy.  With  that  in  view  I  made 
several  trips  to  NewT  York  and  finally  deter- 
mined to  reopen  my  New  York  office,  which  had 
been  closed  since  the  beginning  of  the  panic. 

Some  time  before  this,  I  had  learned  that 
the  affairs  of  the  National  Mercantile  Com- 
pany, a  corporation  whose  securities  I  had 
sold  several  years  before,  were  apparently  not 
being  managed  in  the  interest  of  the  stock- 
holders. I  issued  a  letter  to  those  who  had 
purchased  its  securities  through  my  office, 
stating  that  if  they  chose  to  send  me  proxies 
for  their  stock  I  would,  at  my  own  expense, 
take  measures  to  ascertain  what  was  being  done 
with  the  company.  In  response  to  this  I 
received  proxies  representing  a  majority  of  the 
stock  of  the  company. 

Now,  in  February,  although  my  resources 
were  becoming  very  limited,  it  became  neces- 

430 


TO    BE    OR    NOT   TO   BE 

sary  for  me  to  perform  this  duty — or  break  a 
promise.  I  therefore  engaged  attorneys,  se- 
cured the  appointment  of  a  receiver  for  the 
company  in  the  courts  of  Maine,  and  the 
receiver  took  possession  of  the  company's 
assets  in  Connecticut  and  began  proceedings 
to  recover  for  the  stockholders,  if  possible, 
what  was  left  of  a  once  highly  successful 
enterprise. 

This  proceeding  cost  me  a  number  of 
thousand  dollars  in  cash  and  the  necessary 
bonds  to  guarantee  the  prosecution  of  the  suits. 
My  ready  funds  were  getting  low,  but  I 
reflected  that  I  was  carrying  on  my  books 
large  accounts  for  customers  and  that  notes 
aggregating  nearly  $50,000  would  mature  and 
be  payable  to  me  in  a  few  days. 

Early  in  the  week  of  February  16  I  was  in 
New  York  arranging  for  the  reopening  of  the 
office  there.  I  planned  this  event,  without 
blare  of  trumpets,  for  Monday,  February  24. 
I  left  New  York  Monday  evening,  intending 
to  return  on  Thursday. 

On  my  arrival  in  Boston  I  was  met  by  two 
pieces  of  news  that  stunned  me. 

Attorneys  for  the  Douglas  Copper  Company, 
whose  vice  president  I  had  talked  to  on  terms 

431 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

of  greatest  friendliness  but  the  day  before,  and 
with  whom  I  had  enjoyed  business  relations  to 
an  amount  exceeding  $1,000,000,  had  begun 
a  suit  against  me.  The  claim  was  later  made 
that  this  was  due  to  a  misunderstanding  on 
the  part  of  the  Massachusetts  attorneys  of  the 
company,  and  the  suit  was  withdrawn,  not, 
however,  until  I  had  felt  its  damaging  effect. 

One  of  my  debtors  whose  notes  amounting 
to  $20,000  had  matured,  and  who  owed  me 
additional  sums  of  many  thousand  dollars, 
had  been  prevailed  upon  to  join  the  Lawson 
forces — through  the  Love- Whipple,  Sears  & 
Ogden  alliance — and  had  refused  to  meet  his 
notes,  which  had  gone  to  protest. 

That  night  and  the  next  day  I  had  to  con- 
sider how  seriously  I  was  involved.  For  more 
than  twenty-four  hours  consecutively  I  con- 
sidered, for  I  did  not  sleep  that  night.  I  care- 
fully listed  my  assets.  They  totalled  nearly 
$200,000,  but  they  were  unavailable.  My 
cash  was  tied  up.  Notes  due  me  could  be 
collected  only  by  means  of  long  and  probably 
expensive  lawsuits. 

I  surveyed  my  liabilities.  Justly  they 
amounted  to  about  $40,000,  but  there  were 
many    alleged    liabilities,    such    as   had   been 

432 


TO   BE   OR   NOT  TO   BE 

trumped  up  in  the  suits  brought  and  about  to 
be  brought,  that  could  only  be  disproved  by 
more  long  and  costly  litigation. 

A  crisis  had  come. 

That  night  I  shut  myself  into  my  library 
and  thought — and  thought — and  thought. 
Every  nerve  in  me  was  jangling.  My  head 
ached  miserably.  My  body  and  my  brain 
were  sick — and  my  heart. 

Had  I  been  defeated  at  last?  It  looked  it. 
I  could  see  nothing  ahead  but  an  assignment 
to  gain  time — although  I  had  no  doubt  in  that 
moment  that  time  would  pay  my  creditors 
dollar  for  dollar  and  still  leave  me  with  a 
fortune. 

My  reason  told  me  that  other  men  had  been 
worse  crippled  financially  and  had  come  out 
with  flying  colors.  It  was  only  a  temporary 
embarrassment — I  knew  that.  But  over  and 
beyond  all  consideration  of  the  business 
troubles  was  the  thought  of  the  Wolf-Pack  and 
its  Leader,  rejoicing  in  the  prey  they  had  over- 
come and  pulled  down.  How  the  wolves 
would  lick  their  bloody  jaws!  How  their 
fangs  would  glisten  as  they  grinned  fiercely  at 
their  success ! 

Temporarily    Lawson    had    won.       There 

433 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

could  be  no  doubt  of  that.  Nothing  could 
change  that  array  of  figures  that  stared  at  me 
from  the  library  table.  I  had  not  the  money 
with  which  to  meet  my  impending  liabilities. 
I  must  gain  time.  I  must  make  an  assign- 
ment. 

In  the  moment  when  I  definitely  decided  to 
do  this,  I  determined  to  go  away.  I  could  not 
stand  it  to  remain  in  Boston  and  see  my  great 
business  conducted  by  others — I  never  for  a 
moment  foresaw  its  being  absolutely  wrecked. 
I  could  not  stand  it  to  read  in  the  newspapers 
that  I  had  made  an  assignment.  I  seemed  to 
see  the  bulletin  boards  in  front  of  the  offices  on 
Newspaper  Row,  with  the  words  in  big,  blue 
letters:  "  C.  F.  King  Fails" 

"Failure!"     I  couldn't  stand  it. 

"He's  won.  That's  what  they'll  all  say. 
Lawson's  won."  I  repeated  this  to  myself. 
"He's  got  part  of  his  wish."  And  then: 
" '  Stripes  or  a  suicide's  grave,'  he  said." 

Shocked,  I  halted,  and  there  ran  through  my 
mind,  as  clearly  as  though  some  great  actor 
was  speaking  the  lines  upon  the  stage,  those 
immortal  words  of  Shakespeare: 

To  be,  or  not  to  be,  that  is  the  question: 
Whether  'tis  nobler  in  the  mind  to  suffer 

434 


TO   BE   OR   NOT  TO   BE 

The  slings  and  arrows  of  outrageous  fortune, 
Or  to  take  arms  against  a  sea  of  troubles, 
And,  by  opposing,  end  them  ? 

How  many  men,  situated  as  I  was  at  that 
moment,  have  remembered  those  words !  And 
how  many,  shrinking  from  the  injustice  and 
heartlessness  of  cruel  fate,  have  turned  their 
faces  out  toward  the  Great  Unknown! 

To  die, — to  sleep, — 
No  more; — and  by  a  sleep,  to  say  we  end 
The  heart-ache,  and  the  thousand  natural  shocks 
That  flesh  is  heir  to; — 'tis  a  consummation 
Devoutly  to  be  wish'd. 

Still  it  went  on,  until,  by  sheer  force  of 
some  remaining  will,  I  stopped  it. 

"No!"  I  said.  "Not  that!  It  would  be 
the  easiest  way,  but  I  won't  do  it!  I'll  go 
away  for  a  little  time — until  my  head  stops 
aching — until  I  can  sleep — until  I  gain  my 
strength.     Then  I'll  come  back  and  win." 

On  the  following  morning,  pale,  haggard, 
my  hand  shaking  so  I  could  hardly  hold  the 
pen,  I  made  an  assignment  of  my  business  to 
two  trustees,  and  took  a  train  for  New  York. 

The  flood  had  overwhelmed  me — at  last. 


435 


Chapter  XLV 
DRIFTING 

A  life  like  a  shuttlecock  may  be  toss'd, 
With  the  hand  of  Fate  for  a  battledore. 

I  REMAINED  that  night  at  a  hotel  far 
up  town,  where  I  had  never  stopped 
before  and  was  entirely  unknown.  In 
the  privacy  of  my  room  I  continued  to  struggle 
with  the  problem  of  what  I  should  do — where 
I  should  go — how  I  should  set  out  to  recover 
the  physical  strength  and  mental  poise  that 
had  deserted  me. 

I  wrote  several  letters.  To  my  wife  I  wrote 
that  I  thought  I  should  go  South,  and  this 
intention  I  adhered  to  long  enough  to  write 
an  old  friend  in  North  Carolina  that  he  might 
expect  me  on  a  visit  within  a  day  or  two. 
Hardly  were  these  letters  mailed  than  I  de- 
cided that  it  would  be  better  for  me  to  enter  a 
sanatorium  for  a  time,  and  I  wrote  another 
friend  asking  him  regarding  sanatoriums  in  the 
Piney  Woods.  I  have  friends  who  conduct 
hotels  at  Southern  health  resorts,  and  before  I 
went  to  bed  I  had  again  changed  my  mind  and 

436 


DRIFTING 

about  decided  to  go  to  one  of  these  on  the 
morrow. 

Just  before  dawn  I  caught  a  little  sleep,  and 
in  the  forenoon  a  little  more.  I  arose  in  time 
for  lunch  and  wandered  out  of  the  hotel,  with 
no  more  definite  purpose  than  to  get  a  little 
exercise  and  fresh  air.  At  a  corner  news  stand 
I  bought  an  early  edition  of  the  Evening  Sun. 
There  on  the  street  I  turned  its  pages.  An 
article  confronted  me,  under  the  heading: 

C.  F.  King  Makes  an  Assignment. 

Until  that  moment  I  had  not  realized  what 
the  actuality  would  be.  In  cold  type  the  fact 
stung  me  with  a  great,  heartsick  pang  of 
agony.  I  had  made  an  assignment.  The 
whole  world  knew  it.  My  business  was  in  the 
hands  of  assignees,  empowered  to  act  for  the 
benefit  of  my  creditors.  The  effect  of  it  all 
was  cruelly  crushing. 

I  have  to-day  no  knowledge  of  what  the 
article  said,  beyond  the  first  few  lines.  I  am 
sure  I  did  not  read  the  entire  article.  As  well 
as  I  can  remember,  I  dropped  the  paper  and 
walked  on,  deep  in  thought. 

There  is  a  station  of  the  subway  at  One 
Hundred    and    Third    Street.     I    entered    its 

437 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

door,  descended  the  stairs  and  boarded  the 
first  train  that  came  along.  After  it  had 
started  I  noted,  with  vague  interest,  that  it  was 
bound  downtown.  Until  that  moment  I  had 
not  known,  nor  cared,  whether  I  had  entered 
the  downtown  or  uptown  entrance. 

The  train  roared  on  through  that  great 
black  inferno  of  noise  and  malodorous  air  that 
is  New  York's  solution  of  its  rapid-transit 
problem.  From  time  to  time  it  stopped. 
People  left  the  car  and  others  came  aboard. 
After  a  time  I  noticed  that  every  one  was  leav- 
ing. I  arose  and  went  with  the  others.  When 
I  had  climbed  to  the  surface  of  the  earth  and 
looked  about  me  I  saw  I  was  at  the  Battery. 
I  set  out  to  walk. 

I  encircled  a  square  in  which  sits  a  great 
building,  but  did  not  notice  what  building  it 
was.  I  continued  around  that  square,  per- 
haps three  or  four  times.  Then  I  walked 
toward  the  water.  There  was  no  conscious 
purpose  in  my  actions.  It  was  as  though  my 
acts  had  been  separated  from  my  will;  I  had 
no  volition.  I  felt  stunned  and  at  a  loss  what 
to  do.  Also  I  felt  weak  and  ill  and,  I  confess, 
a  little  frightened  at  my  unwonted  physical 
and  mental  distress. 

438 


DRIFTING 

If,  at  that  moment,  I  had  met  some  old 
friend,  and  he  had  said,  "I  am  going  to  San 
Francisco  on  the  next  train  and  I  think  the 
trip  across  the  Rockies  will  do  you  good,"  I 
have  no  doubt  I  should  have  gone  with  him 
unhesitatingly.  But  Fate,  acting  through  a 
great  sign  that  loomed  large  before  me,  dis- 
posed of  me  differently. 

I  had  been  looking  at  the  sign  for  some 
minutes,  I  think,  when  I  became  actually  con- 
scious of  what  it  said.  It  bore  the  name  of 
the  Cunard  Line  of  European  steamships. 

An  ocean  voyage!  The  thought  had  no 
sooner  occurred  than  I  was  on  my  way  to  the 
office  of  the  company,  under  the  sign,  for  I 
have  traveled  much  by  sea  and  have  never 
failed  to  gain  rest  and  health  from  my  voyag- 
ing. When  would  there  be  a  sailing?  On 
the  next  morning  at  eight  o'clock.  The  ship  ? 
The  Etruria.  Was  there  a  good  room? 
There  was.  Five  minutes  later  I  was  again  on 
the  street,  with  a  passage  ticket  to  Liverpool 
in  my  pocket. 

It  was  in  my  mind  at  that  moment  to  go  to 
Europe  and  return  on  the  same  steamer  or 
perhaps  the  following  one.  My  plans  were 
not  very  clear.     Even  then  I  have  no  doubt 

439 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

I  would  have  changed  them  had  any  one  sug- 
gested it.  I  returned  to  my  hotel,  packed  my 
suit  case — the  only  luggage  I  carried — and  on 
the  following  morning  was  one  of  the  ship's 
company  to  stand  and  watch  the  Goddess  of 
Liberty  give  place  to  the  Highland  Lights,  and 
these,  in  turn,  sink  into  the  sea  as  the  Etruria 
struck  out  boldly  across  the  three  thousand 
miles  of  broad  Atlantic. 

Some  years  ago  I  read  the  newspaper 
accounts  of  an  accident  that  befell  a  great 
Cunarder — I  think  it  was  the  Etruria.  She 
became  disabled  by  the  breaking  of  the  rudder, 
or  the  tail-shaft,  or  some  other  vital  piece 
of  machinery  or  architecture,  and  drifted  for 
days,  while  relatives  and  friends  of  the  pas- 
sengers frantically  telegraphed  for  the  news 
of  her  whereabouts  that  the  ship's  owners  could 
not  give.  After  a  time  her  wireless  telegraph 
apparatus — then  in  its  infancy  and  unable  to 
communicate  more  than  a  hundred  miles  or 
so — made  its  vibrations  heard  on  another  ship, 
and  assistance  was  secured. 

As  I  lay  in  my  stateroom,  that  first  night  out, 
and  felt  the  measured  throb  of  the  engines  and 
the  heaving  and  pitching  of  the  great  liner,  this 
incident   of  the   helpless,   drifting  ship   came 

440 


DRIFTING 

unsummoned  out  of  the  recesses  of  memory. 

How  like  that  ship  I  was  at  this  moment! 
I  was  drifting — drifting  somehow,  somewhere 
— without  rudder  or  compass,  at  the  mercy  of 
every  ebb  and  flow  of  tide,  every  deviation  of 
current,  every  roll  and  chop  of  wave,  every 
breath  of  the  winds  that  blew.  I  had  no 
definite  intention,  other  than  to  regain  as 
speedily  as  might  be  the  mental  health  I  felt 
rather  than  knew  was  in  jeopardy.  To- 
morrow, and  to-morrow,  and  yet  for  more 
to-morrows,  I  should  be  upon  the  sea.  I 
vaguely  put  off  until  it  should  be  near  landing 
time  any  plan  for  the  future.  I  felt  I  should 
feel  better,  sounder,  clearer-headed  by  then. 

It  was  not  an  eventful  passage.  The  first 
day  or  two  were  fairly  pleasant,  for  February, 
and  after  that  there  were  some  severe  storms. 
These  did  not  trouble  me,  for  I  am  a  good 
sailor,  and  I  was  up  and  about  most  of  the 
time.  I  did  not  participate  in  the  games  of 
the  passengers  or  the  diversions  that  are 
arranged  to  relieve  the  tedium  of  a  long  voyage, 
but  I  remained  out  on  deck  as  much  as 
possible,  met  my  fellows  and  endeavored  to  get 
all  the  rest  and  relaxation  and  deeply  breathed 
ozone  that  I  could.     But  when  we  reached 

441 


THE   LIGHT  OF  FOUR   CANDLES 

England  I  was  surprised  to  realize  that  I  did 
not  feel  any  better,  mentally,  than  when  I  left 
New  York. 

I  remained  in  London  a  few  days,  wrote 
some  letters  and  cablegrams,  and  then  I  went 
to  Paris.  A  cable  to  Boston  asking  informa- 
tion as  to  the  condition  of  business  was  un- 
answered. Still  drifting,  without  coherent  plan 
or  reason,  I  returned  to  London,  was  op- 
pressed by  the  fog  that  hung  heavy  over  the 
city  and  went  to  Richmond,  a  suburb,  where 
I  stayed  for  a  brief  time  at  the  Star  and 
Garter,  a  famous  English  hostelry.  Then 
the  wanderlust  returned,  and  again  I  crossed 
the  English  channel  and  visited  Paris. 

It  was  here  that  I  first  came  to  a  realization 
of  my  real  mental  condition.  Good  American 
friends  recommended  me  to  a  physician, 
famed  in  France  for  his  ability  to  diagnose 
and  minister  to  a  mind  diseased.  Now 
thoroughly  alarmed  at  my  failure  to  recover 
the  poise  and  balance  I  had  expected  would 
follow  my  week  on  the  sea,  I  consulted  him. 

He  heard  my  story  and  looked  grave.  He 
proceeded  to  make  certain  tests  whose  purport 
even  I,  unskilled  in  the  lore  of  alienists,  could 
understand.     Then  he  gave  me  the  verdict. 

442 


DRIFTING 

I  was  on  the  verge  of  a  complete  mental 
breakdown — so  close  to  the  precipice  that  he 
could  not  promise  that  I  would  not  at  any 
moment  pitch  forward  into  its  dark  depths. 
If  I  wished  to  retain  my  reason — aye,  if  I 
wished  to  retain  life  itself— I  must  undertake 
to  put  out  of  my  mind  all  thought  of  business, 
all  worries  as  to  the  outcome  of  my  affairs,  and 
I  must  take  a  long  sea  voyage— the  longer, 
the  better.  The  specialist  recommended  Aus- 
tralia, as  the  farthest  point  for  which  direct 
steamers  could  be  secured.  I  promised  to  take 
his  advice,  at  least  to  the  extent  of  going  to 
Ceylon,  where  the  Australian  steamers  call. 
He  shook  my  hand  and  gravely  wished  me  a 
return  to  health.  I  felt  he  did  not  expect  so 
happy  an  outcome. 

I  wished  to  think,  to  consider,  to  appreciate 
this  news  that,  although  feared  and  to  some 
extent  discounted,  had  nevertheless  shaken  me 
seriously.  I  hailed  a  taxicab  and  drove  in  the 
Champs  Elysee.  As  the  car  threaded  that 
crowded  thoroughfare,  alive  with  the  bustle 
and  gaiety  of  the  French  capital,  I  had  time 
for  introspection  and  decision. 

Reason  and  life  itself  in  the  balance!  Most 
horrible  of  all  horrible  thoughts!     You  who 

443 


THE   LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

read  cannot  imagine  the  condition  of  my  mind 
— you  cannot  understand  my  feelings  on  that 
fair  morning — when  the  horror  of  my  condition 
was  at  last  brought  home  to  me  in  all  its  force- 
fulness  by  the  words  of  the  eminent  physician. 
From  the  dark  closet  of  my  memory  there 
came  to  me  a  verse  that  I  had  read  in  the  long, 
long  ago.  It  echoed  in  my  ears  as  I  drove  in 
the  midst  of  the  gay  throng: 

I  have  done  forever  with  all  these  things — 
Deeds  that  were  joyous  to  knights  and  kings, 

In  days  that  with  songs  were  cherish 'd. 
The  songs  are  ended,  the  deeds  are  done, 
There  shall  none  of  them  gladden  me  now,  not  one; 
There  is  nothing  good  for  me  under  the  sun 

But  to  perish  as  those  things  perish 'd. 

And  then,  as  I  rode  there  through  the 
brightest  highway  of  the  fairest  city  in  the 
world,  I  resolved  that  if  will  and  stamina,  and 
firm  determination  could  win  the  battle,  I 
would  turn  defeat  into  victory.  At  least  I 
would  never  surrender. 

The  Gneisenhau,  of  the  North  German 
Lloyd  line,  sailed  from  Southampton  three 
days  later,  bound  for  Australia.  I  was  a 
first-cabin  passenger. 

On  that  very  day — although  I  did  not  know 

444 


DRIFTING 

it  until  three  months  after — my  magnificent 
office  in  Boston  was  closed,  and  ten  days  later 
I  was  adjudged  an  involuntary  bankrupt  and 
a  trustee  appointed  for  my  estate  by  the 
United  States  District  Court  in  Boston. 

It  is  well  that  I  did  not  know  it.  It  is  well 
that  I  followed  the  advice  of  the  eminent 
French  specialist,  and  instructed  that  no  news 
of  my  affairs  be  communicated  to  me. 

Realizing  as  I  do  to-day  the  condition  of  my 
mind  and  body  as  I  went  aboard  that  German 
steamship  and  set  out  on  a  long  voyage,  I 
know  that  had  news  of  things  that  were  hap- 
pening in  Boston  reached  me  at  that  time,  I 
would  long  since  have  taken  my  place  before 
the  final  court  of  last  resort,  where  justice,  and 
only  justice,  is  meted  out  to  all  children  of 
men. 


445 


Chapter   XLVI 
UNDER  THE  SOUTHERN  CROSS 

THE  Gneisenhau  had  barely  passed  Spit- 
head  when  I  retired  to  the  smoking 
room  and  began  a  letter  to  wife  and 
children,  to  be  mailed  at  the  first  port  of  call, 
which  was  Genoa,  Italy. 

I  am  sure  there  is  not  a  human  being  in 
all  the  world  who  can  understand  and  appre- 
ciate fully  the  anguish  of  body  and  mind,  as 
I  wrote  that  letter  to  my  loved  ones  far  away. 
I  pray  God  that  I  may  never  again  have  to 
write  such  a  letter  or  suffer  so  much  in  the 
writing,  and  I  would  not  ask  that  my  bitterest 
enemy  be  called  upon  to  do  battle  with  his 
soul  as  I  was  called  upon  to  battle  on  that  day. 

The  waves  dashed  against  the  ship.  Storm 
clouds  gathered  on  the  horizon.  The  ship 
rolled  and  tossed.  It  all  appeared  to  me  to  be 
in  perfect  harmony  and  rhythm  with  the  hot 
flashes  passing  through  my  brain,  as  I  seated 
myself  in  the  smoking  room  and  began  writing. 

I  said  in  that  letter,  and  I  repeat  now,  that 
I  would  rather  that  my  right  arm  fall  palsied 

446 


UNDER  THE  SOUTHERN  CROSS 

at  my  side  than  to  have  written  the  letter  that 
I  felt  called  upon  to  write  to  wife  and  children 
on  that  day. 

I  wrote  as  gently  as  it  was  given  me  to  write 
at  that  time.  I  explained  to  wife  and  children 
that  I  had  come  face  to  face  with  an  awful 
crisis  in  my  life,  and  that  under  advice,  which 
had  been  given  to  me  more  in  the  nature  of 
a  command,  I  must  go  on  a  long  voyage. 
And  in  the  going  I  must  put  behind  me  all 
recollection  of  business  and  affairs  at  home. 
I  pointed  out  that  not  only  reason  but  life  itself 
depended  upon  my  hearing  nothing,  seeing 
nothing,  learning  nothing  as  to  my  business. 
I  was  anxious  to  know  what  was  being  done 
— whether  or  not  the  trustees  whom  I  had  ap- 
pointed were  succeeding  in  the  task  which  I 
had  outlined  for  them — but  explained  that  no 
word  or  message  as  to  the  condition  of  affairs, 
whether  good  or  bad,  must  reach  me. 

I  wanted  to  know  all  these  things,  but  I 
must  not  know.  I  explained  that  I  was  writing 
aboard  ship — that  in  a  few  days  we  would  put 
in  at  a  port  of  call  and  at  that  point  the  letter 
would  be  mailed,  and  while  the  letter  would 
be  making  its  journey  to  my  home,  I  would  be 
journeying  still  farther  away. 

447 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

I  explained  that  it  might  be  two  months, 
three  months,  or  even  four  months  before  they 
would  hear  from  me.  But  some  day,  I  wrote, 
you  will  hear.  Some  day  I  will  come  back, 
and  when  I  come  it  will  be  a  new  man,  because 
my  coming  will  mean  that  I  have  won  the  fight. 

That  the  awful  suspense  which  a  letter  of 
this  character  would  naturally  create,  might 
be  at  least  bearable,  I  assured  wife  and  children 
that  in  the  event  of  my  death  in  a  foreign  land 
they  would  be  immediately  informed,  for  I  was 
carrying  a  specially  printed  card  in  my  pocket- 
book  bearing  a  perfect  identification.  I  came 
across  that  card  among  my  papers  at  home  the 
other  day.  Thank  heaven,  its  use  never 
became  necessary.     It  read  as  follows : 

"MY  NAME  IS  C.  F.  KING.  I  AM  A  CITIZEN 
OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA.  IN  THE 
EVENT  OF  SERIOUS  ILLNESS,  ACCIDENT  OR  IN- 
JURY, PLEASE  COMMUNICATE  FACTS  BY  CABLE 
TO  MY  HOME  ADDRESS,  60  POWELL  STREET, 
BROOKLINE,  MASSACHUSETTS,  UNITED  STATES 
OF  AMERICA.  ASK  FOR  INSTRUCTIONS,  BEING 
ASSURED  THAT  ALL  EXPENSES  WHICH  MAY  BE 
INCURRED  WILL  BE  PROMPTLY  PAID." 

I  gave  some  specific  information  as  to  my 
life  insurance,  the  number  of  policies  which  I 

448 


UNDER  THE  SOUTHERN  CROSS 

was  carrying  at  that  time  amounting  to 
$75,000,  and  requested  in  the  event  of  my 
death  that  my  body  be  brought  home  and 
buried  in  America.  I  sent  the  most  affection- 
ate message  at  my  pen's  command  to  every  one 
at  home.     And  then  I  said  good-bye! 

I  walked  out  on  the  promenade  deck,  and 
passing  the  ship's  mail  box,  I  dropped  the 
letter  inside. 

Can  you  believe  me  when  I  tell  you  that 
from  that  very  moment  I  was  a  new  man — 
that  new  blood  coursed  through  my  veins — 
that  I  walked  with  a  lighter  step — that  my 
eyes  instantly  grew  brighter  ? 

I  started  for  a  walk  around  the  ship,  saying 
to  myself  as  I  began,  "It  will  be  a  five-mile 
walk  when  I  have  finished. "  And  as  I  walked 
there  came  to  my  side  an  invisible  companion 
who  constantly  whispered  in  my  ear:  'You 
will  win  the  fight!     You  will  win  the  fight!" 

I  ceased  to  brood.  I  pushed  dull  care  to  one 
side.  I  made  myself  believe  I  was  on  a  holi- 
day. I  began  at  once  to  participate  with  the 
ship's  passengers  in  their  sports  and  games. 
My  appetite,  which  had  forsaken  me,  returned. 
I  tried  hard  to  find,  and  did  find,  much  to 
interest  me  from  day  to  day.     I  studied  the  sea 

449 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

from  a  seaman's  point  of  view.  I  sought  out 
the  captain,  a  genial  German,  and  in  a  day  or 
two  we  were  fast  friends.  I  spent  many  hours 
with  him  on  the  ship's  bridge  and  in  his  room, 
and  listened  with  intense  interest  as  he 
explained  the  mysteries  of  navigation,  and 
told  of  his  experiences  and  battles  with  the 
ocean's  power.  I  actually  hypnotized  myself 
into  a  belief  that  I  was  simply  sailing  the  ocean 
blue  on  holiday  bent. 

A  day  or  two  later  the  Gneisenhau  was 
smashing  into  the  mountainous  seas  of  the 
Bay  of  Biscay,  and  then  passing  through  the 
Straits  of  Gibraltar  we  came  upon  the  calmer 
waters  of  the  beautiful  Mediterranean.  It  was 
while  nearing  Malta  that  I  stood  upon  the 
captain's  bridge  at  night  and  picked  out  in  the 
blue  heavens  above  the  familiar  constellations. 
Then  I  thought  how  this  brief  portion  of  my 
voyage  had  been  in  harmony  with  my  mind. 
First  there  had  been  violent  storms.  Now 
there  was  a  measure  of  smoother  sailing. 
Soon,  I  knew,  would  come  a  perfect  calm  in  a 
sheltered  harbor,  and  then  unruffled  peace. 

These  thoughts  forced  themselves  upon  me 
as  I  stood  upon  the  captain's  bridge  on  the 
night  of  March  26.     Had  I  known  the  things 

450 


UNDER  THE  SOUTHERN  CROSS 

afoot  in  Boston  at  that  time  I  should  not  have 
slept  that  night  as  I  did.  For  on  that  day, 
March  26,  it  was  announced  in  all  the  news- 
papers of  Boston  that  the  District  Attorney's 
office  would  bring  any  complaints  which  might 
be  filed  against  me  to  the  attention  of  the 
Suffolk  County  Grand  Jury,  which  would 
convene  the  first  Monday  in  April. 

In  the  ignorance  of  all  this  and  with  the 
light,  cheery  heart  of  a  schoolboy,  I  sailed  down 
the  Mediterranean  with  occasional  stops  at 
ports  of  call.  I  carried  out  my  resolutions 
to  put  all  trouble  and  cares  behind  me.  I 
mingled  with  the  passengers — participated  in 
their  diversions — made  merry,  and  at  all  times 
maintained  a  holiday  spirit. 

I  could  indite  a  volume  describing  the 
strange  new  sights  of  this  voyage,  all  of  which 
proved  interesting  and  even  fascinating  to  me, 
but  they  have  little  to  do  with  the  history  I  am 
writing.  Suffice  it  to  say  that  we  steamed  on 
to  Port  Said  in  Egypt,  and  after  a  stop  of  ten 
or  twelve  hours,  entered  the  Suez  Canal,  and 
passed  out  into  the  Red  Sea,  thence  to  Aden, 
and  then  on  into  the  Gulf  of  Arabia  and  the 
Indian  Ocean. 

It  was  while  we  were  steaming  out  of  Port 

451 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

Said  that  my  spirits  sagged  on  account  of 
a  fellow-passenger's  unconscious  suggestions. 
On  either  side  of  the  canal  stretched  the  sands 
of  a  continent.  On  the  one  hand,  mysterious 
Egypt.     On  the  other  hand,  storied  Arabia. 

My  companion,  pointing  shoreward,  said  to 
me:  "  Over  there,  just  three  hours'  ride  on  an 
Egyptian  railway,  are  the  great  pyramid  of 
Cheops  and  the  sphinx.  Over  in  this  other 
direction,  only  ten  hours'  sail  up  the  Arabian 
coast,  is  Joppa,  the  port  of  Jerusalem." 

My  mind  went  roving  back  more  than  thirty 
years.  I  saw  again  the  little  old  saw-mill  in 
my  fair  Southland.  I  saw  the  little  Sunday 
school  class,  where  I  sat  with  other  boys 
around  a  teacher,  and  I  heard  again  a  story 
of  Bible  times.  All  this,  the  teacher  had  said, 
took  place  in  Jerusalem,  and  Moses,  of  whom 
I  studied  much  in  my  childhood,  was  born  in 
Egypt.  I  recall  the  faint  smile  of  my  Sunday 
school  teacher  of  thirty  years  ago,  when  I 
exclaimed,  "  Some  day  I  shall  see  Jerusalem — 
some  day  I  shall  visit  Egypt!"  As  the  years 
passed  this  ambition  was  ever  in  my  mind. 
To  this  day  I  have  it. 

I  wish  to  go  again  to  Port  Said  and 
take  the  train  there  to  Cairo,  only  three  hours 

452 


UNDER  THE  SOUTHERN  CROSS 

away.  I  wish  to  go  again  to  Port  Said  and 
sail  up  the  coast  of  Arabia  to  Joppa,  the  port 
of  Jerusalem.  I  wish  sometime  in  the  future 
to  wander  at  will  through  the  land  of  the 
Pharaohs  and  round  about  Palestine.  I  wish 
to  see  the  pyramids,  and  the  sphinx,  and  the 
bazaars  of  Cairo,  and  the  cataracts  of  the  Nile. 

Only  three  hours  from  one  and  ten  hours 
from  the  other!     I  was  sad  and  disappointed. 

In  the  Red  Sea  there  was  pointed  out  what 
is  said  to  be  the  actual  place  where  the  waters 
separated  to  allow  Moses  and  his  followers 
to  pass,  closing  afterward  upon  Pharaoh  and 
his  pursuing  host. 

I  read  again  the  Bible  account  of  the  incident 
and  marveled  greatly  at  the  miracle,  while  the 
ship  ploughed  her  way  through  the  calm  blue 
waters  of  the  Red  Sea. 

At  Aden,  in  Arabia,  there  was  Asiatic 
cholera,  and  the  agile  little  natives  who 
swarmed  about  the  boat  in  their  peculiar  little 
craft,  offering  feathers,  fans  and  trinkets  of 
jewelry  for  sale,  were  not  allowed  to  come 
aboard.  They  were,  however,  an  energetic 
and  persistent  lot  and  finally  it  became 
necessary  for  the  ship's  officers  to  play  the 
hose  on  them  to  drive  them  away. 

453 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

A  day  later  we  were  swinging  down  the 
Indian  Ocean,  approaching  the  equator  with 
every  knot  the  ship  logged,  and  the  weather 
became  unbearably  hot.  Despite  the  fact  that 
I  had  not  provided  myself  with  clothing  suited 
to  the  tropics,  I  stood  the  oppressive  heat 
remarkably  well. 

There  was  always  something  to  amuse  going 
on  aboard  the  ship.  On  a  long  sea  voyage  all 
passengers  become  as  one  great  family.  The 
ship's  officers  were  constantly  arranging  some 
new  and  interesting  form  of  amusement.  On 
several  occasions  the  captain  ordered  tables 
for  breakfast,  luncheon  and  dinner  set  upon 
the  hurricane  deck.  The  effect  at  night, 
with  colored  electric  lights  and  Japanese 
lanterns  hung  here  and  there,  was  exceedingly 
beautiful. 

The  ship's  band  furnished  lively  music,  and 
was  always  willing  and  ready  when  a  dance 
was  suggested.  On  one  occasion  the  captain 
introduced  a  unique  diversion  by  permitting 
half  the  crewT  to  rig  themselves  out  as  pirates, 
climb  aboard  from  the  outside  and  "capture" 
the  ship  in  the  midst  of  a  merry  waltz.  On 
this  occasion  the  pirates  not  only  "captured" 
the  ship,  but  took  as  prisoners  the  musicians 

454 


UNDER  THE  SOUTHERN  CROSS 

and  then  introduced  their  own  pirate  band. 

The  long,  hot  days  wore  on.  Sometimes 
there  would  be  a  brief  respite  from  the  intense 
heat,  brought  about  by  the  suggestion  of  a 
breeze.  Then  it  would  die  out,  and  again  the 
dead,  lifeless  calm  of  the  Indian  Ocean  would 
be  upon  us.  There  was  an  abundance  of 
electric  fans  throughout  the  ship,  and  these 
were  kept  running  at  full  speed  day  and  night. 

Only  once  on  the  trip  did  I  feel  seriously 
concerned.  Perhaps  it  was  the  change  of 
water,  although  I  know  the  heat  had  much  to 
do  with  it.  I  did  not  feel  able  one  morning 
to  get  up.  I  was  not  sea-sick.  My  pulse  was 
beating  fast,  and  I  had  a  feeling  of  oncoming 
fever.  I  sent  for  the  ship's  physician.  He 
was  grave  and  non-committal,  and  immedi- 
ately a  fear  gained  foothold  in  my  mind  that 
perhaps  I  was  suffering  from  cholera,  to  which 
all  passengers  had  been  indirectly  exposed  at 
Aden.  However,  after  a  day  or  two  I  was 
able  to  appear  on  deck  and  arrived  at  Colombo 
in  fairly  good  condition,  although  scarcely 
strong  enough  to  continue  the  voyage. 

Colombo,  the  principal  city  of  Ceylon,  it 
might  be  remarked,  is  no  place  for  a  white 
man  in  early  March,  or  any  other  time  of  the 

455 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

year  for  that  matter,  except  possibly  December 
and  January.  It  is  said  to  be  one  of  the 
hottest  places  in  all  the  world.  It  has  a  popu- 
lation of  165,000,  of  which  number,  however, 
there  are  scarcely  two  thousand  whites,  and 
these  spend  most  of  their  time  in  the  moun- 
tains, back  of  the  coast. 

Should  I  remain  with  the  ship  there  were  four 
or  five  days  of  intense  heat  ahead  of  me.  The 
captain  said  I  could  count  on  that  to  a  cer- 
tainty. Within  seven  days  we  would  touch 
the  coast  of  Australia,  and  then  the  heat  would 
be  over. 

The  ship's  doctor  was  in  a  quandary,  and 
he  and  the  captain  left  it  to  me  to  say  whether 
I  should  go  ashore  or  continue  on  to  Australia. 

Should  I  leave  the  ship  at  Colombo  it  was 
pointed  out  to  me  that  I  took  a  considerable 
chance  of  finding  my  illness  aggravated  by  the 
heat,  unless  I  immediately  went  to  the  moun- 
tains, and  every  one  assured  me  that  at  that 
season  of  the  year  it  would  be  impossible  to 
secure  accommodations  at  any  of  the  English 
hotels  in  the  mountains,  unless  the  accom- 
modations had  been  arranged  for  long  in 
advance. 

I  did  not,  however,  feel  equal  to  voyaging 

456 


UNDER  THE  SOUTHERN  CROSS 

further  in  the  intense  heat,  and  so  I  went 
ashore  at  Colombo. 

I  was  so  fortunate  as  to  establish  a  friendship 
with  the  manager  of  the  Galle  Face  Hotel, 
where  I  became  a  guest.  He  was  a  clever 
young  German,  and  I  saw  much  of  him  while 
in  Ceylon.  Through  his  kindness  and  court- 
esy to  me  I  secured  accommodations  at  one 
of  the  best  resort  hotels  far  up  in  the  mountains 
eight  thousand  feet  above  the  sea  level.  He 
was  anxious  to  take  a  vacation  himself,  and 
not  only  arranged  accommodations  for  me, 
but  accompanied  me  on  the  trip  and  we  became 
close  friends  and  companions. 

He  told  me  much  of  life  in  Ceylon  and  the 
peculiar  characteristics  of  the  Cingalese  and 
Tamils.  He  made  me  perfectly  comfortable  at 
the  Galle  Face  Hotel — introduced  me  to  a 
Cingalese  tailor,  who  fitted  me  out  with  the 
kind  of  tropical  clothing  I  needed.  I  gained 
much  strength  and  after  a  few  days  I  was  in 
shape  to  travel. 

The  night  before  we  started  for  the  hills 
there  was  a  ball  given  at  the  Galle  Face  Hotel, 
and  it  was  a  revelation  to  me.  All  the  guests 
appeared  in  evening  dress,  some  of  the  ladies 
wearing  magnificent  Parisian-made  gowns. 

457 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

A  Cingalese  band  of  thirty-six  pieces  occupied 
an  elevated  stand,  'mid  the  palm  and  cocoanut 
trees  and  banana  plants  in  the  hotel  gardens. 

Immediately  after  dinner  I  called  for  a  'rick- 
shaw, and,  being  drawn  by  a  native,  enjoyed  a 
ride  through  the  tropical  park  and  the  cinna- 
mon gardens.  On  my  return  the  ball  was  in 
full  swing.  The  Cingalese  band  was  playing 
a  waltz,  while  one  hundred  couples  kept  time 
to  the  music  on  the  ballroom  floor. 

I  walked  into  the  garden  and  took  a  seat  near 
the  band  stand.  I  became  much  interested  in 
the  musicians.  They  all  looked  so  strange  to 
me.  Their  uniform  is  best  described  by  say- 
ing that  it  looked  very  much  like  a  belted  night- 
gown. Upon  their  heads  were  towering 
turbans,  apparently  made  from  several  towels 
twisted  and  knotted  together. 

After  a  time  these  peculiar-looking  musicians 
began  a  melody  that  had  a  resemblance  to 
something  I  had  heard  before.  When  the 
selection  was  finished  I  called  a  servant  and 
asked  him  to  tell  me  what  it  was  the  band  had 
been  playing.  'They  call  it  the  'New  York 
Cake  Walk,'  master,"  was  his  reply. 

I  went  to  the  band  stand  and  complimented 
the  leader  upon   his  playing  of   that  familiar 

458 


UNDER  THE  SOUTHERN  CROSS 

American  air,   and  assured  him  that  it  had 
given  me  great  pleasure.     He  bowed  low. 

"  Do  you  speak  English  ?"  I  inquired  of  him. 
"Just  a  little,  master,"  was  his  answer. 

"  Can  you  play  '  The  Stars  and  Stripes  For- 
ever '  ?"  With  profound  apology  he  made  it 
clear  that  he  had  never  heard  of  that  famous 
march. 

"Can  you  play  the  'Star  Spangled 
Banner  '  ?"  I  then  asked.  His  regrets  were 
profuse,  but  the  name  was  as  Greek  to  him. 

I  had  an  inspiration.  I  recalled  that  Cey- 
lon was  an  English  possession. 

"Can  you  play  '  God  Save  the  King  '?"  I 
asked.  "Oh,  yes,  master,"  he  replied,  "it 
would  give  us  much  pleasure  to  play  'God  Save 
the  King.' "  Then  he  again  bowed  low,  and  I 
walked  slowly  back  to  my  seat  'mid  the  palms, 
and  there  in  that  far-off  land,  under  the  rus- 
tling leaves  of  the  palm  and  banana  trees,  I 
stood  with  head  bared,  while  thirty-six  dusky 
musicians  blared  forth  the  strains  of  Great 
Britain's  national  anthem.  And  although  it 
has  not  been  given  me  to  sing  I  did  the  best  I 
could,  and  with  melody  in  my  heart  I  followed 
those  chords  given  out  by  the  band.  My 
words  were  not,  however,  the  words  of  Great 

459 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

Britain's  national  anthem.  Down  in  my  heart 
I  was  singing  in  harmony  with  the  music  that 
I  heard 

My  country!  'tis  of  thee, 
Sweet  land  of  liberty, 
Of  thee  I  sing  ! 

My  eyes  were  wet  when  I  resumed  my  seat 
— wet  from  the  thoughts  of  that  far-away  home, 
which  I  might  never  see  again.  Wet  from  a 
desire  that  I  might  soon  be  able  to  voyage  back 
to  my  loved  ones — back  to  the  land  of  liberty, 
freedom  and  justice  for  all  men. 

And  even  as  my  heart  sang  that  night  the 
papers  of  Boston  and  New  York  were  filled 
with  news,  under  great  black-type  headlines, 
boldly  proclaiming  that  the  Grand  Jury  of 
Suffolk  County  had  returned  an  indictment 
against  me,  alleging  larceny  on  thirty-one 
counts. 

Of  this,  thank  heaven,  it  was  not  given  me 
to  know  until  I  had  regained  fully  my  health 
and  strength  and  returned  to  Boston  several 
weeks  thereafter.  I  had  nothing  of  this  ter- 
rible news  to  mar  the  feeling  of  peace  that 
was  coming  over  me. 

The  subjects  of  King  Edward  had  all  risen 

460 


UNDER  THE  SOUTHERN  CROSS 

at  the  playing  of  the  national  anthem,  and 
when  it  was  finished  and  we  were  all  seated 
again,  I  sat  for  a  long  time,  silently  gazing 
at  the  marvellous  beauties  of  a  tropical  night. 
The  purplish  sky  was  studded  with  brilliant 
stars,  twinkling  like  diamonds  in  the  crown  of 
darkness. 

Most  beautiful  of  all,  in  the  far  south,  hung 
that  great  constellation  that  has  guided  the 
journeys  of  many  a  voyager — that  mag- 
nificent combination  of  stars  unknown  to  man 
of  northern  latitudes,  that  has  turned  the 
thoughts  of  many  a  heart-sick  soul  to  Him 
whose  sufferings  it  typifies. 

As  I  looked  out  upon  this  magnificent 
picture  of  nature,  my  mind  ran  back  uncon- 
sciously and  fixed  itself  upon  those  grand  words 
of  the  Psalmist:  "The  heavens  declare  the 
glory  of  God;  and  the  firmament  sheweth  his 
handy  work." 

For  a  long  time  I  was  silent.  The  band 
played  another  air,  and  again  the  music  ceased. 

I  had  not  turned  my  head,  for  my  eyes  were 
fixed  in  admiration  and  reverence  upon  the 
Southern  Cross. 


461 


Chapter  XLVII 
IN  THE  ISLAND   OF   CEYLON 

I    AROSE     early    the    following    morning 
and  after  enjoying  a  six  o'clock  break- 
fast, my  German  friend  and  I  took  'rick- 
shaws to  the  railway  station  and  started  for 
the  hills. 

The  railroad  in  Ceylon  was  a  surprise  to  me. 
The  cars,  or  carriages,  as  they  are  called,  are 
every  whit  as  good  and  comfortable  as  those  of 
England  or  France,  and  the  road-bed  is  well 
ballasted.  The  building  of  this  railroad  sev- 
eral years  ago  by  the  government  of  Ceylon 
was  a  splendid  piece  of  engineering  work. 
The  road  winds  and  twines  about  the  mountain 
sides  in  a  most  daring  fashion.  It  is  said  that 
more  than  a  dozen  natives  were  killed  in  the 
construction  of  every  mile  of  this  railroad. 
The  train  crew  is  made  up  exclusively  of 
Cingalese,  with  the  exception  of  the  engineer, 
who  is  white.  He,  however,  has  a  Cingalese 
assistant,  who  does  all  the  work,  the  white 
engineer  merely  taking  upon  himself  the 
responsibility  for  the  movement  of  the  train. 

462 


IN   THE   ISLAND   OF   CEYLON 

Past  the  humble  bungalows,  along  the  out- 
skirts of  the  city,  through  the  swamps  and 
jungles  that  creep  close  to  the  clearings  of  civili- 
zation, then  straight  for  the  foothills  and  the 
towering  mountains  beyond,  our  train  bore  us. 

We  passed  many  magnificent  plantations, 
rice  fields  and  great  groves  of  rubber  plants. 
The  heat  grew  less  oppressive — the  air  became 
balmy.  Finally  our  train  stopped  at  Kandy, 
the  old  capital  of  Ceylon,  where  the  last  Kandy 
king  was  vanquished  by  the  conquering  Eng- 
lish in  the  same  year  that  witnessed  the  defeat 
of  Napoleon  at  Waterloo. 

Here,  at  an  altitude  of  about  thirty-five 
hundred  feet  above  the  sea,  my  friend  and  I 
secured  good  accommodations  at  the  Queen's 
Hotel,  and  spent  several  days  in  rest,  recreation 
and  sight-seeing. 

Kandy  is  a  city  of  perhaps  twenty  thousand 
population,  beautifully  situated  upon  the 
shores  of  an  artificial  lake,  more  than  three 
miles  in  circumference,  from  whose  waters  on 
every  side  rise  the  hills,  like  the  ascending 
tiers  of  a  natural  amphitheatre. 

The  lover  of  the  picturesque  cannot  stir  from 
his  hotel  without  seeing  something  new  to 
arouse   him   to   exclamations    of   enthusiastic 

463 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

delight.  Nature  was  indeed  lavish  when  she 
spread  out  and  equipped  this  capital  of  the 
ancient  Kandy  kings. 

Old,  time-worn  stone  buildings,  built  in  the 
florid  architecture  that  marks  all  parts  of 
India  and  Ceylon,  and  is  a  monument  to  the 
ambition  of  the  ancient  chiefs  and  the  cheap- 
ness of  slave  labor,  are  to  be  seen  on  every 
hand. 

Of  all  these  the  Temple  of  the  Sacred 
Tooth  is  assuredly  the  most  interesting. 
Devotees  of  the  Buddhist  faith  all  over  the 
world  look  with  reverence  toward  this  Temple, 
where  reposes  what  they  believe  to  be  the 
left  eyetooth  of  Buddha,  taken  from  the  ashes 
of  his  funeral  pyre  more  than  twenty-five 
hundred  years  ago. 

It  is  not  given  to  many  travelers,  even  of  the 
faithful,  who  journey  to  this  holy  shrine,  to 
look  upon  this  sacred  relic,  but  most  tourists 
by  the  judicious  use  of  a  small  coin  may  gaze 
upon  a  replica  of  it. 

If  it  was  truly  a  tooth  of  Buddha,  the  great 
teacher  must  have  been  constructed  on  mar- 
vellous lines,  for  the  object  is  fully  two  inches 
long  and  nearly  one  inch  in  thickness. 

Investigators    who    are    not    followers    of 

464 


IN  THE  ISLAND   OF   CEYLON 

Buddha  have  given  it  as  their  opinion  that  the 
relic  is  a  piece  of  ivory  from  an  elephant's 
tusk.  However  this  may  be,  the  sacred  object 
is  magnificently  housed  and  its  Temple  has  a 
retinue  of  priests  and  high  priests  who  attend 
the  duties  of  guarding  it  and  conducting  an 
evening  service  daily. 

Once  a  year  there  is  a  great  street  pro- 
cession in  Kandy,  in  which  all  the  dignitaries 
of  the  Buddhist  religion  participate,  and  on 
this  occasion  a  jeweled  box  containing  the 
sacred  relic  is  carried  through  the  streets,  while 
thousands  bow  low  as  the  elephant  upon  whose 
back  the  box  is  made  fast  passes  along. 

They  were  building  an  addition  to  the 
Queen's  Hotel,  at  Kandy,  while  I  was  there, 
and  one  of  the  most  interesting  sights  I  wit- 
nessed  was  the  bringing  into  town  of  granite 
for  this  structure  from  the  quarry,  some  ten 
or  twelve  miles  away.  The  work  was  per- 
formed entirely  by  elephants,  whose  strength 
and  skill  were  marvellous.  The  elephant  be- 
came a  very  familiar  figure  to  me  during  my 
stay  in  Ceylon.  He  is,  in  fact,  one  of  the 
principal  products  of  the  island,  and  I  saw  him 
on  every  side,  yet  I  never  tired  of  watching 
him  and  admiring  the  wonderful  combination 

465 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

of  strength,   skill   and  intelligence   which   he 
shows  under  the  direction  of  his  mahout. 

I  saw  elephants  working  in  the  quarries, 
handling  great  blocks  of  granite  with  super- 
human strength  and  almost  human  intelligence. 
I  saw  them  laboring  in  the  forest,  sorting  out 
and  piling  lumber  into  regular  heaps,  with  an 
evenness  and  accuracy  that  seemed  to  indicate 
absolute  powers  of  reasoning.  I  saw  them, 
after  their  day's  work  was  over,  taken  to  the 
river  for  a  bath,  whereupon  they  disported  for 
all  the  world  like  great,  overgrown,  lubbering 
schoolboys,  released  for  play. 

I  saw  one  elephant  of  the  herd,  in  a  fit  of  bad 
temper,  leave  the  others  in  the  stream,  and 
make  alone  for  the  opposite  bank.  His 
master  called  to  him  without  avail.  The 
moment  he  started,  however,  all  the  other 
elephants  of  the  herd  looked  up  and  mani- 
fested uneasiness  at  his  action.  Their  masters 
gave  them  the  word,  and  with  one  accord  a 
dozen  of  those  big,  intelligent  brutes  went  after 
the  truant,  followed  him  on  the  farther  side, 
surrounded  him  and  forced  him  to  return. 
When  he  resisted  arrest,  as  it  were,  they 
pounded  him  with  their  trunks,  prodded  him 
with  their  tusks   and  gradually  forced    him 

466 


IN  THE  ISLAND  OF  CEYLON 

along,  until  he  was  back  across  the  stream, 
and  his  mahout  could  reach  him  with  an 
elephant  hook.  The  others  acted  as  though 
they  knew  they  had  performed  a  meritorious 
deed  in  thus  returning  the  sulky  one  to  his 
master.  I  was  told  that  they  would  be 
rewarded  with  rice  cakes  when  they  reached 
their   quarters. 

One  old  elephant  filled  me  with  admiration. 
He  was  the  biggest  one.  I  am  sure  he  was 
bigger  than  Jumbo  or  Bollivar  of  circus  fame, 
and  he  was  ninety-one  years  old,  which  is  a 
good  age  even  for  an  elephant.  He  is  known 
as  the  king  of  all  the  herds  in  Ceylon,  and 
because  of  this  distinction  is  required  to  do  no 
work,  but  is  permitted  to  enjoy  himself  as 
becomes  a  leader  among  elephants,  and  serves 
man  but  one  day  in  the  year,  and  that  is  when 
he  appears  in  the  midst  of  the  great  pro- 
cession in  Kandy,  with  the  jeweled  box  con- 
taining the  sacred  tooth  of  Buddha  made  fast 
upon  his  back. 

I  was  informed  that  Hagenback,  the  great 
menagerie  man,  had  offered  a  very  large  sum 
for  the  old  king,  but  it  had  been  refused,  for 
the  owners  look  upon  his  position  as  a  holy 
one,  and  they  have  a  fear  that  should  they  sell 

467 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

him,  some  dire  calamity  would  befall   them. 

Often  at  the  circus  I  have  admired  the  ease 
with  which  elephant  trainers  put  these  huge 
beasts  through  their  paces.  I  shall  never  again 
enjoy  such  a  performance,  for  the  tricks  that  I 
have  seen  in  the  circus  ring  pale  into  insig- 
nificance before  some  of  the  feats  I  saw  per- 
formed by  elephants  upon  their  native  heath 
in  Ceylon. 

I  looked  upon  the  tombs  of  many  ancient 
Kandy  kings,  who  reigned  over  the  island  and 
maintained  courts  of  Oriental  splendor  two 
thousand  years  before  America  was  discovered. 
I  wandered  amid  the  Buddhist  temples  of  an 
almost  forgotten  age.  I  took  an  automobile 
trip  far  into  the  jungle  and  surveyed  with 
wonder  the  tropical  vegetation  which  every- 
where abounds. 

One  evening  I  attended  a  church  enter- 
tainment at  the  Christian  Misson.  My  Ger- 
man friend,  from  Colombo,  and  the  proprietor 
of  the  Queen's  Hotel,  a  Frenchman,  were  my 
companions.  I  witnessed  a  program  which, 
but  for  the  dusky  faces,  the  bare  feet,  and  the 
peculiar  costumes  of  those  participating,  might 
have  been  a  Sunday  school  concert  in  a  small 
city  of  Massachusetts  or  New  York.     There 

468 


IN  THE   ISLAND   OF   CEYLON 

were  recitations,  solos  and  concert  singing. 
It  was  all  very  interesting.  Most  of  all  was  I 
impressed  by  the  singing  of  a  boys'  choir  of 
about  thirty — lads  of  from  nine  to  a  dozen 
years.  Their  unshod  feet  pattered  on  the 
steps  as  they  ascended  the  platform.  Their 
appearance  was  singularly  incongruous,  as 
they  turned  to  take  the  time  of  their  singing 
from  their  white  teacher. 

I  had  expected  to  hear  them  sing  in  their 
native  tongue,  and  the  air  I  felt  sure  would  be 
weird  and  strange.  Therefore,  it  was  but 
natural  that  I  should  bend  forward  with  amaze- 
ment as  I  heard  the  familiar  words  and  air,  as 
sung  by  that  choir  of  Cingalese  and  Tamil 
boys — the  words  and  air  the  same  as  I  have 
heard  many  times  before: 

"Onward,  Christian  soldiers,  marching  as  to  war." 

I  was  surprised  at  the  clearness  of  their 
English  expression — surprised  at  the  melody 
which  their  young,  tender  voices  gave  forth — 
but  surprised  more  than  ever  when  they  sang 
the  second  number,  which  carried  me  back 
to  the  days  when  I  attended  a  Sunday  school 
at  the  old  saw-mill  in  North  Carolina.  The 
song  so  familiar  to  me  and  which  sounded 
strangely  sweet  in  that  far-off  land  was : 

469 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

"  Shall  we  gather  at  the  River, 
The  beautiful,  the  beautiful  River?'* 

As  I  listened  to  the  singing  by  this  choir, 
under  the  very  shadow  of  that  great  Buddhist 
Temple,  in  the  very  heart  of  the  land  where 
Buddhism  is  strongest,  I  recalled  that  the 
Cingalese  and  Tamil  boys  were  the  product 
of  years  of  labor  on  the  part  of  Christian 
missionaries,  and  I  marveled  at  the  success  of 
their  work. 

Three  or  four  days  we  spent  at  Kandy,  and 
then  receiving  word  that  our  accommodations 
were  ready  at  the  Grand  Hotel  at  Nuwara 
Eliya,  we  started  for  that  beautiful  moun- 
tain resort,  famous  the  world  over  as  the 
natural  sanatorium  of  the  Far  East.  Some 
seventy  miles,  far  up  into  the  mountains 
from  Kandy,  Nuwara  Eliya — pronounced  as 
though  it  were  spelled  Nu-wah-ra-lia — is  one 
of  the  most  beautiful  spots  on  God's  footstool. 

I  do  not  recall  having  ever  visited  a  place  in 
all  my  travels  so  lovely  to  behold  as  this 
mountain  resort  in  Ceylon.  It  is  easy  to 
understand  why  the  natives  who  profess 
Christianity  believe  Ceylon  to  have  been  the 
Garden  of  Eden,  while  the  followers  of  Buddha 
maintain  that  it  is  the  spot  chosen  of  all  others 

470 


IN  THE   ISLAND   OF   CEYLON 

by  the  great  teacher  for  his  departure  to 
Paradise. 

Adam's  Peak,  a  high  mountain  not  far  from 
Nuwara  Eliya,  bears  upon  its  summit  a  depres- 
sion that  a  good  imagination  can  make 
resemble  a  gigantic  human  footprint.  There 
is  a  legend  that  this  is  the  footprint  left  by 
Adam  when  he  stepped  into  the  Garden  of 
Eden.  Another  legend  is  that  Gautama 
Buddha  left  this  mark  as  he  bade  farewell  to 
his  followers  of  earth  and  bounded  from  the 
mountain's  summit  into  heaven. 

On  leaving  the  train  at  Nuwara  Eliya,  after 
the  journey  in  which  we  had  been  climbing 
higher  and  higher  into  the  mountain  fastnesses 
all  day,  we  were  greeted  by  a  porter  from  the 
hotel — a  native  Cingalese — barefooted,  but 
wearing  a  regalia  that  would  dim  in  splendor 
the  uniform  of  a  general  in  some  barbaric 
army.  We  handed  over  our  luggage  to  him, 
but  I  would  not  ride  to  the  hotel,  which  we 
could  see  less  than  a  mile  away.  "Ride!"  I 
exclaimed.  "No,  sir.  Just  breathe  this  air. 
I  am  going  to  walk." 

Unless  you  have  gone  from  the  torrid  heat 
to  temperate  weather  in  a  few  days,  as  I  had, 
you  cannot  imagine  the  delight  of  breathing 

471 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

such  air  as  that  on  the  heights  of  Nuwara 
Eliya,  and  the  delight  of  living  grew  appre- 
ciably as  the  time  passed  in  this  garden  spot  of 
the  Far  East. 

The  Grand  Hotel,  while  not  a  large  structure 
in  comparison  with  the  great  resorts  of  the 
world,  is  commodious  and  above  all  things 
comfortable;  broad  lawns  surround  it;  com- 
fortable chairs  and  swings  are  scattered  about; 
sheltered  tents  upon  the  broad  lawns  protect 
the  guests  from  the  noonday  sun.  The  water 
is  good.  The  food  is  good.  The  fruits  and 
vegetables  are  the  best  I  have  ever  eaten.  The 
guests  may  wander  but  a  short  distance  from 
the  hotel  and  pick  the  largest,  most  luscious 
pineapples  I  have  ever  seen. 

For  ten  days  I  rested  mind  and  body  'mid 
these  marvellous  surroundings  at  Nuwara 
Eliya.  I  consulted  a  Cingalese  physician 
who  encouraged  and  helped  me  by  his  advice 
and  admonition.  I  took  long  walks  and  reg- 
ular exercise.  I  climbed  the  surrounding 
hills.  I  visited  the  great  tea  plantations  and 
watched  the  half-naked  natives  gather  the 
leaves  from  the  tea  plants.  I  walked  far  into 
the  jungle  and  came  upon  strange  people  who 
lived  in  rude  bungalows  made  of  bamboo  and 

472 


IN  THE  ISLAND  OF  CEYLON 

mud.  I  breathed  the  pure  mountain  air  and 
kept  my  mind  filled  with  the  things  about  me. 
For  ten  days. 

One  morning  at  an  unusually  early  hour  I 
was  awakened  from  sleep  by  the  sound  of 
singing.  The  words  were  foreign  and  the 
strain  was  weird  and  strange.  The  singers 
were  not  far  from  my  window  and  by  sitting 
up  in  bed  I  was  able  to  see  them.  An  old 
native  woman,  a  man  and  a  boy  had  come  to 
the  vicinity  of  the  hotel  to  sell  vegetables. 
They  had  spread  out  their  stock  beside  the 
road  and  were  singing  to  attract  the  attention 
of  possible  customers.  I  lay  back  in  bed  and 
listened  to  the  strange  song,  and  then  I  thought 
of  home  and  I  thought  of  the  great  distance 
and  the  rolling  waves  of  many  oceans  which 
lay  between  me  and  my  home  at  that  moment. 
I  could  not  return  to  sleep.  It  was  too  early 
to  rise.     I  lay  thinking. 

For  the  first  time  since  my  arrival  in  Ceylon 
I  deliberately  and  with  intention  allowed  my 
mind  to  roll  back  to  the  days  of  my  business, 
to  the  cruel,  almost  crushing  days  of  February 
when  I  closed  my  eyes  and  affixed  my  signature 
to  a  paper  which  meant  that  all  I  possessed  in 
the  world  was  assigned  to  trustees.     I  thought 

473 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

slowly  and  carefully  of  all  that  had  gone 
before.  I  saw  it  all  in  a  new  and  clearer 
perspective.  I  took  an  inventory  of  myself 
and  then  I  realized  that  I  was  a  new  man;  that 
my  old  self  had  returned;  that  I  was  a  well 
man,  a  man  strong  enough  to  again  take  up 
the  fight  where  I  had  perforce  laid  it  down — 
strong  enough  to  take  charge  of  my  business 
again  and  handle  it  successfully.  I  arose  and 
dressed. 

Up  to  that  moment  there  had  not  crossed  my 
mind  a  single  thought  or  suggestion  as  to  when 
I  should  return  home.  When  I  walked  down 
the  single  flight  of  stairs  to  the  hotel  office, 
the  clerk  was  apparently  surprised  to  have  me 
address  an  inquiry  to  him  as  to  the  sailing  from 
Colombo  of  the  next  steamship  for  Europe — 
and  home.  From  that  moment  I  had  no 
desire  to  remain  longer  in  Ceylon.  I  as- 
certained on  inquiry  that  the  Gneisenhau,  the 
ship  on  which  I  had  journeyed  from  South- 
ampton to  Colombo,  would  be  returning  on 
May  20,  and  it  would  have  been  a  source  of 
great  pleasure  for  me  to  return  aboard  that 
ship,  renewing  again  the  pleasant  acquaint- 
ances I  had  made  on  the  outward  passage. 
Another  ship,  however,  was  scheduled  to  sail 

474 


IN   THE   ISLAND   OF   CEYLON 

ten  days  ahead  of  the  Gneisenhau.  It  was  the 
Roon,  also  of  the  North  German  Lloyd.  I  could 
not  wait  for  the  Gneisenhau  but  immediately 
booked  passage  aboard  the  Roon,  which  was  to 
sail  for  Southampton  on  May  10.  I  returned 
to  Colombo  two  days  before  the  Roon  was  to 
sail,  and  on  arriving  there  I  despatched  a  cable 
to  America.  It  was  the  first  message  I  had 
sent  since  leaving  Europe  and  was  addressed 
to  my  brother  in  New  York.  The  cablegram 
was  a  bare  inquiry  as  to  the  health  of  my 
family.  Ah,  the  joy  of  receiving  the  reply, 
"  All  well. "  I  then  sent  another  cable  instruct- 
ing that  mail  be  forwarded  to  me  at 
Southampton,  and  boarded  the  Roon,  which 
lay  at  anchor  off  the  Colombo  water-front. 

The  boatswain's  whistle  sounded  shrilly. 
Somewhere  down  in  the  bowels  of  the  ship  a 
gong  clanged.  The  ship  indicator  pointed  to 
"slow  speed  ahead."  The  anchor  came  up 
and  was  lashed  in  position.  The  Roon  slowly 
gained  headway,  nosing  into  the  calm  waters  of 
the  Indian  Ocean.  From  the  afterdeck  as  we 
rapidly  increased  the  distance  between  the  ship 
and  shore,  I  stood  waving  a  handkerchief  at  a 
passenger  in  a  small  steam  launch.  It  was  a 
launch  owned  by  the  manager  of  the  Galle 

475 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

Face  Hotel,  and  he  stood  waving  to  me  with  his 
broad  Oriental  hat  a  cheerful  farewell. 

I  have  referred  to  this  hotel  manager  several 
times.  He  is  Herr  Conrad  Peter,  a  German. 
I  was  of  a  different  nationality  than  he.  I  was 
a  stranger  in  a  strange  land.  Yet  his  courtesy, 
his  attention,  his  helpfulness  were  such  that  he 
will  always  fill  a  warm  spot  in  my  heart.  He 
is  an  able  and  intelligent  hotel  manager — and 
more.  He  is  a  genial  companion,  an  inborn 
gentleman  and  a  good  friend. 

I  waved  my  handkerchief  until  the  launch 
and  its  occupant  had  become  a  mere  blur  upon 
the  water.  Then  I  squared  my  shoulders, 
turned,  and  set  my  face  toward  where  the  sun 
was  falling  with  tropic  speed  behind  the  hori- 
zon. Already  it  had  risen  on  the  other  side  of 
the  world;  its  rays  were  beginning  to  warm 
and  awaken  mv  own  native  land.  And  I  was 
following  it  toward  the  west  as  fast  as  steam 
would  take  me. 

The  homeward  voyage  had  begun. 


476 


Chapter  XLVIII 
HOMEWARD   BOUND 

THE  mighty  engines  throbbed,  the  pro- 
pellers turned,  and  up  from  the  equator 
the  Roon  pushed  her  prow  through  the 
rolling  seas  toward  home.  Home!  I  was 
going  home !  No  one  can  appreciate  the  feel- 
ing of  lightness,  of  buoyancy,  of  satisfaction 
and  happiness  and  triumph  that  possessed 
me.  At  last,  health  restored,  with  a  vigorous 
body  and  a  clear  mind,  I  was  going  home. 

I  was  a  different  man  from  the  one  that 
voyaged  east  on  the  Gneisenhau  a  month 
before.  That  traveler  was  endeavoring  to 
appear  interested,  and  happy,  and  light- 
hearted.  This  one  was  interested  and  light- 
hearted. 

I  suppose  the  heat  was  as  great  in  the  Indian 
Ocean  on  the  return  trip  as  when  I  went  to 
Ceylon.  I  suppose  the  discomforts  of  travel 
were  not  less.  But  nothing  seemed  unpleas- 
ant; there  were  no  drawbacks.  I  was  home- 
ward bound,  and  I  was  well. 

Again  we  passed  through  the  Gulf  of  Arabia 

477 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

and  the  Red  Sea.  Again  I  saw  the  agile  little 
swimmers  at  Aden  and  the  place  where  Moses 
was  led  by  the  pillar  of  cloud  by  day  and  of  fire 
by  night,  toward  the  promised  land.  Again 
we  steamed  slowly  through  the  great  Suez 
Canal. 

Before  we  reached  Port  Said  I  had  made  up 
my  mind  not  to  go  to  Southampton.  There 
was  now  but  one  thought  in  my  mind — to  get 
home  at  the  earliest  possible  moment.  And  as 
it  appeared  that  we  would  probably  connect 
with  a  boat  for  New  York  at  Naples,  it  was 
evident  that  I  could  gain  time  on  the  return 
voyage  by  making  transhipment  at  that  city 
rather  than  at  the  English  port.  So  at  Port 
Said  I  cabled  my  brother  Robert  not  to  send 
any  more  mail  to  Southampton. 

As  a  result  of  this  decision  it  was  long 
after  I  reached  America  before  I  received  the 
letters  and  papers  that  he  had  expected  would 
greet  me  on  my  arrival  in  England. 

A  story  of  the  happenings  of  that  trip  from 
Colombo  to  Naples  would  not  differ  materially 
from  the  story  of  the  voyage  in  the  opposite 
direction,  except  in  so  far  as  I  was  able  to 
enjoy  this  journey  more.  It  was  a  pleasant 
voyage.     The  officers  of  the  ship  succeeded  in 

478 


HOMEWARD   BOUND 

entertaining  their  passengers  well.  There  was 
much  calm  weather,  and  on  several  occasions 
the  captain  had  the  tables  for  dinner  set  on  the 
hurricane  deck  and  the  ship  decorated  with 
colored  lights  for  the  occasion,  as  had  been 
done  on  the  outward  voyage.  There  were 
concerts,  and  dances,  and  informal  parties. 

It  was  with  genuine  regret  that  I  parted 
from  my  acquaintances  when  the  Roon  arrived 
at  Naples. 

I  learned  that  the  Princess  Irene  of  the  North 
German  Lloyd  line  was  to  sail  for  New  York 
within  two  days.  I  made  the  most  of  that 
forty-eight  hours  in  Naples,  seeing  as  much  of 
the  city  as  my  limited  time  would  allow,  and 
taking  a  brief  trip  through  the  vineyards  and 
fields  in  the  direction  of  Vesuvius. 

On  the  second  day  I  stood  by  the  ship's  rail 
as  the  engines  started  and  the  last  lap  of  my 
journey  to  America  began.  My  eyes  were 
fixed  across  the  deep  blue  waters  of  the 
beautiful  bay  on  the  towering  mountain  whose 
eruptions  have  spelled  tragedy  for  nearly  two 
thousand  years.  Beside  me  stood  a  quiet, 
prosperous-looking  gentleman  who  was  appar- 
ently about  fifty-five  or  sixty  years  old.  His 
field-glasses  were  focused  on  the  mountain. 

479 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

"There  is  some  smoke,  but  no  lava,"  he 
said,  turning:  to  me.  '  Would  vou  like  to  use 
my  glasses?" 

I  thanked  him,  viewed  Vesuvius  through 
the  powerful  lenses,  and  courteously  returned 
the  glasses  to  their  owner.  He  again  looked 
through  them,  then  turned  to  me  with  the 
freedom  of  one  on  an  ocean  voyage. 

"  The  first  time  I  saw  that  mountain  the  cone 
was  much  higher,"  he  said.  Then,  reminis- 
cently,  "There  was  no  railroad  up  the 
mountain  sides  in  those  days  and  I  was  ven- 
turesome enough  to  climb  the  mountain  and 
look  down  into  the  crater.     That  was  in  1854." 

I  could  not  repress  my  astonishment.  "  You 
climbed  it  in  1854!"  I  exclaimed.  'You  will 
excuse  me,  but  you  do  not  look  as  if  that  were 
possible.  That  was  more  than  fifty  years 
ago." 

He  smiled.  "I  am  seventy-five  years  of 
age,"  he  said,  simply. 

From  that  beginning  conversation  broad- 
ened. We  exchanged  names  and  cards  and  a 
warm  acquaintance  began  that  lasted  until  we 
had  landed  in  New  York  City. 

My  new  friend  was  the  Hon.  Andrew  D. 
White,  one  of  the  most  famous  of  American 

480 


HOMEWxVRD   BOUND 

diplomats.  I  do  not  recall  that  I  have  ever 
enjoyed  a  chance  acquaintance  so  much  as  I 
did  that  with  this  distinguished  gentleman. 
The  countries  of  Europe,  the  personality  of 
their  rulers  and  the  policies  of  their  govern- 
ments were  to  this  man  as  the  streets  of  New 
York  or  Boston  to  me. 

For  many  days  we  were  on  the  water 
together  and  as  the  ship  logged  off  the  knots 
up  the  Mediterranean,  through  the  Straits  of 
Gibraltar  and  out  across  the  tossing  Atlantic, 
we  sat  wrapped  in  steamer  rugs  in  our  deck 
chairs  and  talked.  Andrew  D.  White  is  one 
of  the  most  interesting  talkers  I  have  ever  met. 
His  memory  is  a  mine  of  incidents  great  and 
small,  of  absorbing  interest.  He  is  highly 
educated  and  has  read  broadly  and  traveled 
widely,  and  as  we  walked  the  decks,  of  pleasant, 
sunny  days,  or  sat  in  the  smoking  room  when 
the  weather  was  inclement,  his  recollection 
proved  a  treasure  house  of  interesting  and 
valuable  information. 

For  twenty  years  the  president  of  Cornell 
University,  and  for  many  years  one  of  the  best- 
known  of  all  the  diplomats  of  the  American 
corps,  he  had  met  great  men  of  the  earth  on 
terms  that  enabled  him  to  discuss  them  as  the 

481 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

average  man  discusses  his  business  and  social 
friends  and  acquaintances. 

He  had  been  the  highest  representative  of 
the  American  government  at  the  court  of 
St.  Petersburg,  and  enjoyed  the  acquaintance 
of  Czar  Nicholas  III,  and  his  comments  upon 
that  young  man's  personality  and  surroundings 
were  highly  interesting.  Later  he  was  Ameri- 
can Ambassador  at  Berlin  and  spoke  of 
Emperor  William  as  one  would  speak  of  a 
personal  friend. 

I  had  somewhere  gained  the  impression  that 
the  late  Czar  Alexander  was  gracious,  easy  to 
control  and  pliable,  and  that  Nicholas  was  a 
real  autocrat,  jealous  of  all  the  prerogatives  of 
his  rank  and  willing  to  stop  at  nothing  so  that 
he  ruled  with  a  hand  of  iron.  It  was  Mr. 
White  who  corrected  this  long-standing  error. 

"You  have  things  exactly  transposed,"  he 
said.  "Nicholas  is  a  pleasant,  open-minded, 
good-hearted  young  man,  who  would  much 
rather  live  quietly  at  one  of  his  country  places, 
with  his  wife,  his  children  and  his  horses  and 
dogs  than  to  mix  in  the  complexities  of  state- 
craft. Alexander,  on  the  other  hand,  was 
autocratic.  It  is  possible  that  Nicholas,  in  the 
privacy  of  his  closet,  may  sometimes  wonder 

482 


HOMEWARD   BOUND 

if  it  be  really  true  that  God,  in  His  wisdom, 
has  selected  the  Romanoffs  to  represent  Him 
in  Holy  Russia;  you  may  be  sure  that  not  only 
did  Alexander  never  question  the  Divine  right 
of  kings,  and  especially  of  Russian  emperors, 
but  that  it  never  occurred  to  him  even  to  debate 
the  question  in  his  mind." 

Mr.  White  talked  often  and  at  length  regard- 
ing the  great  contrasts  in  Russia — the  mag- 
nificence and  splendor  of  the  royal  court  and 
the  terrible  poverty  and  suffering  on  the  part 
of  the  poor. 

"There  is  no  such  contrast  even  in  India," 
he  said  one  day.  "  There  in  Bombay,  Calcutta 
and  other  capitals,  the  native  Maharajahs  and 
princes  maintain  magnificent  courts,  while  out 
in  the  country  the  peasantry  are  dying  of 
famine.  But  their  courts  are  not  so  gorgeous 
as  that  at  St.  Petersburg,  and  their  peasants  do 
not  have  to  combat  a  terrible  cold  in  addition 
to  hunger." 

Mr.  White  believed  that  the  present  move- 
ments in  Russia  looking  toward  freedom  could 
never  become  successful  until  Russia,  as  a 
whole,  gains  more  education.  The  illiteracy 
of  the  masses  he  described  as  appalling. 

A  story  told  me  by  Mr.  White  made  a  strik- 

483 


THE   LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

ing  impression  upon  me.  I  am  going  to  repeat 
it,  believing  it  may  prove  as  entertaining  to  my 
readers  as  it  was  to  me. 

A  magnificent  banquet  was  tendered  the 
court  and  all  foreign  officialdom  one  January 
day  at  the  Winter  Palace  in  St.  Petersburg. 
Mr.  White  was  among  the  invited  guests. 
Through  a  blinding  snow  storm  he  made  his 
way  to  the  palace  in  good  season  and  after  the 
usual  red  tape  by  which  the  Russian  officials 
guard  against  the  presence  of  enemies  of  the 
Czar,  reached  the  great  banquet  hall  where 
tables  had  been  spread  for  twenty-five  hundred 
guests. 

I  should  like  to  tell  you  of  the  magnificence 
of  that  banquet — of  the  rare  foods  and  wines — 
of  the  brilliant  people  present — of  the  orange 
trees,  brought  at  enormous  expense  from  the 
far  south  of  Europe,  whose  blossoms  scented 
the  air  and  whose  fruit  was  detached  and 
served  to  guests — of  the  emperor's  courtesy 
and  conduct  in  acting  the  genial  host.  I 
should  like  to  tell  you  this  as  Mr.  White  told  it 
to  me,  for  it  would  prove  both  interesting  and 
instructive.  But  I  must  pass  to  the  point  of 
the  story. 

When  the  guests  are  all  present,  at  one  of 

484 


HOMEWARD   BOUND 

these  state  dinners,  the  band  plays  the  national 
anthem  and  His  Majesty  enters  through  a  wide 
door  which  all  the  guests  face.  He  is  preceded 
by  his  personal  guard,  which  always  marches 
ahead  of  him  on  such  an  occasion,  and  per- 
forms such  menial  services  as  opening  doors 
and  surrounding  him  as  he  passes  through. 
This  guard  is  made  up  of  gigantic  black  men, 
attired  in  magnificent  uniforms.  Not  one  of 
them  is  less  than  six  feet,  six  inches  in  height, 
and  all  are  magnificent  examples  of  muscular 
manhood. 

There  has  been  much  controversy  as  to  the 
exact  nationality  of  these  blacks.  It  is  sup- 
posed that  they  come  from  Abyssinia,  and  that 
the  Czar's  officials  have  a  number  of  similar 
men  in  training  in  that  country  at  all  times  to 
take  the  place  of  those  who  may  sicken  or  die. 
There  are  six  or  eight  negroes  in  the  guard. 
They  never  speak — so  says  rumor — and  it  is 
presumed  that  they  know  no  other  language 
than  the  rude  dialect  of  their  African  home. 

"  When  the  Czar  left  the  room,  after  dinner," 
said  Mr.  White,  telling  me  the  story,  "every 
person  present  was  on  his  or  her  feet,  facing 
the  door.  Etiquette  does  not  allow  any  guest 
to  depart  before  His  Majesty,  but  immediately 

485 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

after  his  exit  there  is  a  mad  rush  to  get  away, 
as  the  crowd  is  so  great  that  it  takes  two  or 
three  hours  for  the  last  of  the  guests  to  call 
their  carriages. 

"As  is  the  custom,  the  six  or  eight  blacks  of 
the  guard  ranged  themselves  across  the  door 
through  which  the  Czar  had  just  disappeared, 
to  make  sure  that  no  one  followed.  There 
was  some  confusion  and  I  was  buffeted  about 
a  little  and  suddenly  found  myself  pushed 
against  this  line  of  ebony  giants.  I  was 
endeavoring  to  make  my  way  along  when  one 
of  them  seized  me  by  the  arm.  He  leaned  over 
and  whispered  in  my  ear — this  Abyssinian  who 
could  speak  only  the  dialect  of  his  country — 
and  said: 

'If    yo'    Excellency'll    stan'    still    fo'    a 
minute,  Ah'll  let  you  out  by  de  side  do.' 

"'As  I  live,'  I  exclaimed,  'I  do  believe 
you're  a  Washington  darky.'  He  repressed  a 
grin  with  difficulty.  '  Yassuh,'  he  said.  And, 
at  what  must  have  been  considerable  risk  to 
himself,  he  assisted  me  to  get  out  at  the  side, 
thereby  saving  me  at  least  two  hours." 

The  talk  drifted,  one  day,  to  Berlin  and  the 
Emperor  William.  Mr.  White  spoke  in  high 
terms  of  that  ruler,  saying  that  he  is  one  of  the 

486 


HOMEWARD   BOUND 

hardest-working  men  in  the  world.  The 
David  Jayne  Hill  incident  was  uppermost  in 
the  public  mind  at  that  time,  and  Mr.  White 
spoke  freely  of  it,  saying  that  from  his  knowK 
edge  of  the  court  at  Berlin,  and  of  the  Emperor 
himself,  he  felt  sure  that  the  slight  opposition 
which  the  newspapers  said  he  had  shown  to 
Mr.  Hill  as  ambassador  had  been  entirely 
misinterpreted. 

"The  Emperor  is  earnest,  quick  to  think, 
and  quick  to  speak,"  he  said.  " I  believe  that 
what  happened  was  this.  Some  one  informed 
him — some  American  who  was  returning  home 
— informed  him  of  the  President's  intention  to 
succeed  Charlemagne  Tower  by  Mr.  Hill. 
The  Emperor,  who  likes  Mr.  Tower,  very 
likely  replied,  '  Oh,  dear,  no.  That  won't  do 
at  all.  Tell  the  President  I  don't  like  that.' 
He  would  say  it  in  just  that  way  if  it  came  into 
his  head  that  he  wanted  Mr.  Tower  to  remain. 
It  would  not  mean  anything  more  than  a  matter 
of  personal  liking  for  the  old  ambassador. 
And  I  feel  certain  that  this  is  just  about  what 
happened." 

With  this  and  other  friendships  the  days 
passed  pleasantly  and  rapidly.  Every  day  we 
were  so  many  miles  nearer  home.     I  recount 

487 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

these  anecdotes  of  my  acquaintance  with 
Mr.  White  because  they  are  the  things  that 
stand  out  strongest  in  my  memory  of  that 
voyage.  My  mind  was  not  concerned  with 
more  serious  things  than  the  happenings  of  the 
day.  I  was  nearly  home.  I  was  well.  I 
was  happy. 

On  the  night  before  we  entered  New  York 
harbor  I  chanced  to  mention  to  Mr.  White  my 
four  sons.  I  talked  of  my  hope  that  at  least 
one  of  them  would  have  a  university  education. 
We  spoke  of  Cornell,  and  Mr.  White  told  me 
if  I  should  send  the  lad  to  that  University  he 
wrould  be  pleased  to  have  him  call  upon  him 
upon  arriving  at  the  college.  Also  he  kindly 
invited  me  to  visit  him  at  his  home  in  Ithaca — 
an  invitation  wThich  I  hope  some  day  to 
accept. 

In  the  early  morning  we  steamed  slowly  up 
the  bay,  past  quarantine,  past  the  Statue  of 
Liberty  on  Bedloe's  Island,  past  the  uneven 
building  line  of  the  downtown  district,  and  up 
to  the  company's  docks  at  Hoboken.  On  the 
pier  I  bade  good-bye  to  my  acquaintances  of 
the  trip,  shaking  hands  last  with  my  friend,  the 
former  ambassador,  and  took  a  ferry  for  NewT 
York  City. 

488 


Chapter  XLIX 
BACK  TO  A  WRECK 

FROM  the  New  York  end  of  the 
Twenty-third  Street  Ferry  I  took  a 
taxicab  to  an  uptown  hotel,  where  I 
secured  a  room  just  before  noon  and  proceeded 
to  enjoy  the  luxury  of  a  shower  bath.  When  I 
had  done  this  and  changed  my  clothing  I 
called  my  brother  Robert  on  the  telephone. 
He  was  not  at  his  office,  whereupon  I  left  my 
name  and  number  and  requested  that  he  call 
me  up  as  soon  as  he  came  in. 

My  brother  did  not  call  me  on  the  'phone; 
he  came  to  the  hotel  as  fast  as  electricity  could 
bring  him.  From  his  lips  I  then  learned, 
for  the  first  time,  what  had  befallen  during  my 
absence.  He  gave  many  exclamations  of  sur- 
prise that  I  had  landed  from  an  ocean  steam- 
ship, come  unmolested  across  the  North  River 
and  through  the  city's  streets  and  called  him 
openly  on  the  telephone  without  finding  myself 
in  custody.  I  then  learned  for  the  first  time 
that  a  warrant  for  my  arrest  had  been  issued 
two  months   before    and   that    all   the    police 

480 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

officials  of  New  York,  Boston  and  every  other 
large  city  in  the  country  were  supposed  to  be 
watching  for  me. 

For  an  hour  we  talked  confusedly,  incoher- 
ently. There  was  so  much  I  wished  to  know. 
There  was  so  much  he  wished  to  tell  me. 
Then  we  became  calmer  and  I  was  able  to  put 
together  the  incredible  information  that  he 
gave  me. 

He  told  me  how  the  trustees  to  whom  I  had 
made  an  assignment  on  the  day  before  I  left 
Boston  had  done  their  best  to  carry  out  my 
plans,  without  success.  He  explained  that 
they  had  not  been  permitted  to  carry  on 
the  business  as  was  intended,  but  immediately 
following  my  departure  a  receiver  had  been 
appointed,  and  soon  thereafter,  on  petition  of 
some  of  my  creditors,  I  had  been  adjudged  an 
involuntary  bankrupt  by  the  United  States 
District  Court  at  Boston,  and  a  trustee  had 
been  appointed  by  the  Court  who  had  taken 
charge  of  all  my  property. 

The  newspapers  had  given  great  publicity 
to  all  these  things.  An  indictment  had  been 
returned  against  me  by  the  Suffolk  County 
Grand  Jury,  which  convened  in  April. 

"Why,   man    alive!"    he    exclaimed,    "the 

490 


BACK  TO  A   WRECK 

police  have  sent  out  circulars  all  over  the 
world  containing  your  picture  and  asking  for 
your  arrest." 

I  listened  calmly  as  this  terrible  story  was 
told  to  me.  "Very  well,"  I  said.  "Tell 
me  about  my  family."  When  assured  that 
wife  and  children  were  well,  I  arose,  lit  a  cigar, 
and  began  to  walk  the  floor  of  my  room. 

"I  can  stand  it  all,"  I  said.  "I  am  strong 
enough  to  meet  it  and  I  will  meet  it." 

I  telephoned  for  the  former  manager  of  my 
New  York  office,  and  he  too  came  to  my  room 
and  assisted  my  brother  in  making  clear  to  me 
all  that  had  happened — so  much  of  it,  at  least, 
as  could  be  told  within  the  limitation  of  a  few 
hours. 

They  showed  me  clippings  from  newspapers 
— -I  have  them  now  and  shall  always  keep  them 
as  an  evidence  of  the  lengths  to  which  a  passion 
for  the  sensational  can  lead  the  editorial  and  the 
reportorial  mind,  or  rather  some  editorial  and 
reportorial  minds.  I  found  myself  charac- 
terized in  big  type  as  an  absconder,  a  deceiver 
of  the  poor,  and  a  fugitive  from  justice. 

Not  all  the  newspapers  had  in  this  manner — 
intentionally  or  unconsciously — done  their  part 
to  assist  in  the  Lawson  campaign,  else  I  would 

491 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

be  ashamed  to-day  of  the  fact  that  I  ever 
worked  in  a  newspaper  office.  Many  of  them 
had  been  fair  and  just,  and  had  refused  to  take 
part  in  the  campaign  to  injure  a  man  who  was 
not  present  to  defend  himself.  I  give  honor 
where  honor  is  due. 

"  Then  my  Boston  offices  are  closed, "  I  said, 
early  in  the  conversation  with  my  brother. 

"Closed?"  he  repeated.  "They're  gone. 
The  business  is  gone.  Everything  is  gone. 
The  business  has  been  absolutely  smashed. 
There  is  nothing  but  the  wreck  left.  Your 
automobiles  have  been  sold  and  at  this  minute 
an  auctioneer  is  selling  your  magnificent 
library,  and  on  next  Thursday  every  piece  of 
furniture — every  picture  frame  and  chair  in 
your  Brookline  home  is  scheduled  to  '  go  under 
the  hammer.'  " 

I  had  come  back  to  find  a  wreck! 

"It's  high  time  I  was  home,"  I  said.  "I'm 
going  to-night." 

"To-night?" 

"Certainly.     On  the  boat." 

"You  mustn't  do  that.  You'll  be  arrested 
if  you  show  your  face  in  Boston.  It's  a 
miracle  you  have  not  been  taken  into  custody 
here  in  New  York." 

492 


BACK  TO   A  WRECK 

"Very  well.  I  propose  to  face  things  at  the 
first  possible  minute.  I  certainly  don't  want 
to  be  arrested  in  New  York.  It  would  look  as 
if  I  didn't  intend  to  return.  I  am  going  to 
Boston  to-night." 

"You'd  better  wait  until  we  can  make  ar- 
rangements for  you  to  get  bail,  and  then  go  over 
and  give  yourself  up." 

"No,"  I  said.  "I'll  not  have  any  one  say 
that  I  would  not  return  to  Boston  until  things 
had  been  arranged  for  me.  I'm  going  at 
once." 

But  here  Fate  determined  differently.  It 
was  a  very  hot  night,  and  I  did  not  wish  to  take 
the  long  train  ride.  And,  although  I  tele- 
phoned to  every  boat  line  between  New  York 
and  Boston,  I  could  not  find  one  which  had  a 
satisfactory  stateroom  for  that  night.  I  was 
therefore  forced  to  postpone  my  departure 
from  New  York  for  one  day. 

I  learned  upon  inquiry  that  my  wife  was 
visiting  at  my  brother's  New  York  home,  and 
my  first  suggestion  was  that  I  go  there  at  once 
and  see  her.  My  brother  talked  me  out  of 
this,  pointing  out  to  me  that  it  was  very 
possible  that  the  police  had  been  instructed  to 
watch  his  house  for  my  appearance,  and  that 

493 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

such  action  on  my  part  might  result  in  instant 
arrest.  It  was  therefore  arranged  that  I 
should  purchase  two  adjoining  staterooms  on 
the  Providence  Line  boat  for  the  following 
night,  and  that  Mrs.  King  and  I  should  not 
meet  until  I  boarded  the  boat,  and  then  in  the 
privacy  of  our  rooms. 

Of  the  twenty-four  hours  that  elapsed  before 
it  came  time  for  me  to  take  the  Providence 
Line  boat  there  is  little  to  say.  I  had  begun  to 
get  used  to  the  new  aspect  of  things,  so 
unexpected  and  shocking.  I  utilized  most  of 
the  time  writing  a  statement  to  the  papers, 
which  was  given  out  the  next  day.  I  slept  well 
that  night,  for  I  realized  I  had  an  ordeal 
ahead  of  me.  As  I  awoke  on  the  following 
morning,  refreshed  and  feeling  fit  for  any  fight, 
I  thought  of  the  last  night  spent  in  New  York, 
just  before  my  departure  for  Europe.  It 
seemed  like  a  nightmare,  that  former  occasion. 
I  was  not  the  same  man  that  four  months  be- 
fore wandered  aimlessly  down  into  the  subway 
and  into  the  Cunard  offices,  willing  to  buy  a 
ticket  for  Europe  or  Kamtchatka,  China  or 
Cape  Town,  so  long  as  he  could  go  away  and 
find  rest  and  peace. 

They  suggested  that  I  take  a  closed  cab  to 

494 


BACK  TO  A  WRECK 

the  steamboat  that  afternoon.  I  laughed  at 
them. 

"I  am  going  down  town  in  the  elevated 
train,"  I  said.  " If  it  is  my  fate  to  be  arrested 
before  I  leave  New  York  no  one  shall  say  that 
I  was  trying  to  keep  out  of  sight." 

I  walked  down  the  gangplank  of  the  Provi- 
dence openly,  without  attempt  at  concealment, 
twenty  minutes  before  the  boat  sailed.  I 
entered  my  stateroom  and  unlocked  the  door 
to  the  adjoining  room.     My  wife  was  there. 

We  sat  up  until  a  very  late  hour.  We  had 
so  much  to  tell,  so  much  to  ask,  so  much  to 
repeat. 

I  overslept  a  little  at  Providence,  and  did  not 
get  the  boat  train  for  Boston.  It  was  neces- 
sary to  go  across  the  city  to  the  Union  Station 
and  wait  there  an  hour  for  a  regular  train. 
I  was  surprised  that  no  police  inspector  came 
to  me  and  informed  me  that  I  was  wanted  in 
Boston.  I  was  surprised  when  we  rode  from 
Providence  in  a  day  coach  filled  with  people 
that  nobody  seemed  to  recognize  me. 

My  wife  left  the  train  at  the  Back  Bay 
Station.  I  told  her  I  was  going  to  endeavor 
to  get  to  police  headquarters  without  being 
apprehended  on  the  way,  but  that  it  was  too 

495 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

much  to  hope  for,  and  that  I  much  preferred 
she  would  not  be  with  me  when  any  unpleasant- 
ness occurred.  I  assured  her  I  should  soon 
call  her  on  the  telephone. 

Alighting  from  the  train  at  the  South 
Terminal  Station  I  crossed  to  the  carriage 
entrance,  passing  hundreds  of  people.  I  en- 
tered a  cab  and  gave  directions  to  the  driver: 

"Police  headquarters,  Pemberton  Square." 

"Yes,  sir,"  he  replied.  "Police  headquar- 
ters.    Yes,  sir." 

Threading  the  jam  of  vehicles  in  Federal, 
Devonshire  and  Court  Streets,  the  cab  slowly 
approached  Pemberton  Square.  Twice,  from 
the  window,  I  saw  policemen  whose  faces  were 
familiar  to  me  and  who  were  probably  equally 
familiar  with  my  appearance.  They  chanced 
to  look  in  the  opposite  direction. 

I  alighted  from  the  cab,  paid  the  driver  and 
walked  into  headquarters.  The  door-keeper, 
when  I  asked  who  was  in  charge,  did  not 
recognize  me. 

"Well,  what  can  I  do  for  you?"  asked  an 
officer,  sharply. 

"I  am  C.  F.  King,"  I  said,  as  quietly  as  I 
could,  although  my  heart  was  exulting  at 
having  actually  reached  the  station  without 

496 


BACK  TO  A   WRECK 

discovery.     "I    understand    you    have    been 
looking  for  me." 

The  officer  stared  at  me.  "C.  F.  King?" 
he  repeated,  as  though  he  could  not  believe  his 
ears. 

'I  am  C.  F.  King,"  was  my  reply. 

He  continued  to  stare.  "Won't  you  step 
inside  and  wait  a  few  moments?"  he  said. 
"I'll  send  for  the  captain." 

That  official  came.  He,  in  common  with 
all  the  others  whom  I  met  at  headquarters, 
was  courteous.  He  asked  me  where  I  had 
been  and  what  I  had  been  doing.  Especially 
he  seemed  interested  to  learn  how  I  had 
reached  police  headquarters  without  being 
arrested.     That  reminded  him  of  something. 

"Oh,  by  the  way,  Mr.  King,"  he  said, 
touching  me  lightly  on  the  shoulder.  "You 
are  now  under  arrest." 


497 


Chapter  L 
-THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES" 

THE  daily  newspapers  gave  many  col- 
umns of  space  to  the  news  of  my  home- 
coming that  day.  I  spent  the  fore- 
noon and  afternoon  in  an  ante-room  adjoining 
the  inspectors'  offices  at  police  headquarters 
and  was  visited  by  a  score  or  more  of  loyal 
friends,  who  expressed  delight  at  my  improved 
appearance  and  entire  confidence  in  my  ability 
to  successfully  meet  all  the  charges  that  had 
been  made  against  me  in  my  absence. 

I  gave  out  to  the  newspapers  the  long  state- 
ment which  I  had  prepared  in  New  York  dur- 
ing my  enforced  wait,  the  day  before.  The  old 
newspaper  friends  who  called  on  me  all 
directed  attention  in  their  papers  to  the  fact 
that  I  was  calm  and  collected,  and  gave  no 
indication  of  worry  over  the  outcome  of  my 
troubles.  Why  should  I?  I  was  at  home, 
ready  to  meet  my  accusers  face  to  face,  and  a 
clear  conscience  needs  fear  no  man. 

It  was  hardly  to  be  expected  that  I  could 
secure  a  large  bail  bond  within  the  limits  of  a 

498 


-THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES" 

single  day,  and  I  did  not  expect  to  do  so. 
Friends  set  out  as  soon  as  they  heard  that  I  was 
back  in  Boston  to  secure  the  necessary  sureties, 
but  without  notice  of  my  home-coming  and  in 
view  of  all  that  had  been  printed  about  me 
during  my  absence,  I  should  not  have  been  sur- 
prised if  it  had  been  a  day  or  two  before  they 
could  find  bondsmen  able  to  give  surety  for  so 
large  an  amount  as  was  requisite. 

When  I  bade  my  wife  good-bye  at  the  Back 
Bay  Station  I  told  her  not  to  be  worried  if  I 
was  unable  to  come  home  for  a  day  or  so.  I 
told  her  that  I  expected  I  would  have  to  remain 
in  custody  at  least  one  night,  and  perhaps  two. 
Indeed,  it  is  surprising,  under  the  circum- 
stances, that  this  was  not  the  result — and  a 
tribute  to  the  confidence  of  old  friends. 

The  officials  of  the  police  department  were 
extremely  courteous  and  accommodating.  I 
told  them,  late  in  the  afternoon,  that  I  did  not 
ask  at  their  hands  any  favors  that  would  not  be 
accorded  any  other  prisoner,  and  that  I  was 
ready  to  go  to  the  Charles  Street  Jail — where 
persons  awaiting  bondsmen  are  confined — at 
any  hour.  They  waited  until  six  o'clock. 
Then,  bonds  not  having  been  secured,  I  went 
with  officers  to  the  jail. 

499 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

The  usual  routine  examination  was  con- 
ducted there,  and  penknife,  cigar-cutter  and 
other  sharp  instruments  with  which  a  prisoner 
might  attempt  suicide  were  taken  from  me. 
I  was  required  to  answer  the  customary 
questions  and  was  then  assigned  to  a  cell  on 
the  ground  floor,  in  a  main  corridor.  When 
the  key  was  handed  to  the  officer  who  was  to 
conduct  me  to  the  cell  the  warden  gave  him 
the  number.  I  do  not  remember  now  what 
number  it  was,  but  I  recall  smiling  at  the 
thought  that  this  was  not  a  dissimilar  experi- 
ence to  registering  at  a  hotel  and  having  a  bell- 
boy called  to  take  the  guest  to  his  room.  They 
are  a  little  more  careful  what  the  guest  takes 
to  his  room,  at  Charles  Street,  and  he  cannot 
leave  the  hostelry  by  merely  announcing  his 
intention  and  calling  for  his  bill. 

The  cell  whose  door  rattled  open  at  my 
approach  and  clanged  shut  behind  me  was 
convenient,  clean  and  cool.  Its  contents  were 
not  many  nor  luxurious.  They  included  a  cot, 
a  wooden-bottomed  chair,  a  wooden  bucket 
with  a  cover,  a  shelf  on  which  lay  a  Bible,  a 
printed  copy  of  the  rules  and  regulations  of 
the  jail  fastened  to  the  wall — and  that  was  all. 

I  was  informed  pleasantly  that  I  would  be 

500 


-THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES" 

allowed  to  send  outside  the  building  for  any- 
thing I  wished  to  eat  or  any  books  or  papers  I 
wished  to  read.  I  at  once  ordered  supper, 
which  was  brought  in  soon  afterward. 

Before  leaving  police  headquarters  I  had 
provided  myself  with  a  bundle  of  newspapers, 
and  it  was  my  intention  to  spend  the  evening 
reading  them.  When  I  had  eaten  and  was 
preparing  to  make  myself  comfortable  and 
peruse  these  papers  at  my  leisure,  I  realized 
that  the  shades  of  evening  were  falling,  and 
that  it  would  soon  be  too  dark  to  read  com- 
fortably. 

Out  in  the  corridor  a  gas  jet  was  burning, 
but  it  wTas  some  distance  away  from  my 
cell  aud  its  rays  did  not  give  sufficient  light. 

A  guard  approached  the  door. 

"You  are  allowed  to  buy  candles,  if  you  wish 
to    get    more    light,"    he    said.     "Five    cents 

apiece." 

"  Can  I  have  more  than  one  ?"  I  asked. 

"  Oh,  yes.     All  you  want. " 

"Give  me  four." 

He  passed  the  candles  in  through  the  bars 
and  I  gave  him  twenty  cents.  Then  I  set 
about  arranging  them  so  that  I  could  read  most 
comfortably  with  a  maximum  of  light. 

501 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

I  moved  the  wooden-bottomed  chair  to  the 
head  of  the  cot  and  set  the  covered  pail  upon  it. 
On  the  pail  I  arranged  my  four  candles  in  a 
row  and  lit  them  all. 

The  result  was  good.  I  could  sit  or  recline 
upon  the  cot  and  read  with  comfort.  In  the 
small  cell  the  illumination,  after  the  shadows 
that  were  marking  the  declining  day,  seemed 
almost  magnificent. 

As  I  sat  upon  the  edge  of  the  cot  and 
surveyed  the  scene,  for  the  first  time  it 
came  over  me  that  here  was  the  end  of  my 
fourteen-thousand-mile  dash  across  the  earth 
— that  at  last  I  was  home,  and  this  was  my  wel- 
come. I  looked  about  the  room  as  though  it 
were  new  to  me.  I  saw  the  whitewashed 
walls,  the  cheap,  serviceable  chair  and  cot,  the 
gray  blanket.  I  looked  through  the  bars  at 
the  circumscribed  view  of  the  corridor.  I  saw 
the  rules  and  regulations  posted  on  the  wall 
and  realized  that  these  were  for  the  guidance 
of  prisoners — and  that  I  was  a  prisoner.  I 
saw  the  little  shelf,  and  the  Bible  that  lay  upon 
it. 

Forgotten  were  the  evening  papers,  with 
their  great  black  headlines:  "C.  F.  King  re- 
turns unannounced  and  surrenders  at  police 

502 


"THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES" 

headquarters."  Forgotten  were  the  plans  to 
spend  the  evening  hours  reading  the  columns 
upon  columns  of  comment  upon  my  un- 
expected and  what  was  termed  dramatic 
entrance  into  the  headquarters  of  the  police 
who  had  been  searching  for  me  throughout  the 
country.  Forgotten  were  the  events  of  the 
day,  with  their  excitement  and  suspense.  For- 
gotten were  the  true  friends  who  at  that  mo- 
ment were  finding  bondsmen  and  arranging 
for  them  to  give  sureties  in  the  sum  of  $25,000 
for  my  appearance  before  the  court  whenever 
my  presence  should  be  required  by  my 
accusers. 

I  sat  there  on  the  edge  of  my  cot,  with  my 
eyes  fixed  on  the  opposite  wall,  whose  newly 
whitewashed  surface  glistened  brightly  in  the 
candle-light.  My  hands  rested  idly  on  my 
knees.  My  mind,  knowing  no  boundaries  of 
bolts  and  bars  and  dungeon  walls,  went  sally- 
ing forth  into  the  world,  back  into  the  distant 
past. 

I  saw  again  the  old  mill  in  the  Sunny  South, 
and  the  dusty  main  street,  and  the  swimming 
hole  beyond  the  bridge.  I  saw  the  saw-mill 
where  the  great  logs  lay,  and  where  the  visiting 
preachers  spoke  on  Sundays.     I  saw  the  great 

503 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

fire,  and  the  brick-yards  that  came  after,  and 
my  mother  waving  to  me  as  I  went  barefooted 
out  into  an  unsympathetic,  uncaring  world. 

Again,  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye,  I  lived  the 
years  that  passed  between  those  childhood 
hours  and  the  days  when  I  became  an  adviser 
in  finance.  I  saw  myself  climbing,  ever 
climbing,  fighting  for  the  recognition  among 
investors  that  came  slowly  but  surely.  I  lived 
again  in  the  months  of  unalloyed  success.  I 
saw  myself  gaining  a  commanding  position  in 
the  world  of  investments  and  adding  to  the 
world's  goods  that  such  progress  gained. 

Again  I  was  confronted,  in  memory,  by 
the  problem  of  whether  I  should  work  with 
an  eye  single  to  the  honest  profit  of  investors 
or  turn  aside  to  be  unfaithful  at  the  instance 
of  the  Powers  that  Prey.  I  recalled  all  the 
happenings  of  those  days  when  I  must  fight  or 
fall.  I  remembered  the  struggle  for  victory, 
for  existence  itself,  with  the  gnashing  teeth  of 
the  Wolf -Pack  ever  at  my  shoulders.  I 
thought  of  the  bribe  I  had  refused,  of  the 
defiance  I  had  ever  hurled  at  the  leader  of  the 
wolves.  I  recalled  the  victorv  that  I  had  lost 
by  agreeing  to  a  mistaken  truce,  and  I  lived 
again,  in  memory,  those  heart-breaking  days 

504 


"THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES" 

when  the  truce  was  broken  and  I  was  too  weak 
to  defend  myself  against  the  attacks  of  the 
enemy. 

My  mind  went  back  to  the  terrible,  sleepless 
nights  that  directly  preceded  my  assignment 
and  departure  in  search  of  health — to  the 
mental  agony  I  suffered  in  those  days  when  I 
drifted  to  and  fro  like  a  rudderless  ship  on  a 
tossing  sea.  I  recalled  the  more  recent  events 
of  my  victorious  fight  for  health  and  for  life 
itself,  my  triumphant  return  to  my  own 
country,  and  my  shock  at  finding  my  business 
wrecked  and  my  enemies  apparently  in  full 
control  of  the  battle-field. 

I  reached  out  my  hand,  almost  mechanically, 
as  I  sat  there  in  the  midst  of  all  these  thoughts 
tumbling  one  over  the  other  in  confusion,  and 
took  from  its  shelf  the  copy  of  the  Bible  I  had 
before  noted.  It  opened  to  the  ninety-second 
Psalm,  and  I  read: 

"  When  the  wicked  spring  as  the  grass,  and 
when  all  the  workers  of  iniquity  do  flourish ;  it 
is  that  they  shall  be  destroyed  forever." 

It  was  a  word  of  encouragement  when  I 
most  needed  it — a  word  from  a  never-untruth- 
ful source.  Back  again  went  my  mind,  in  this 
moment  of  inaction  and  searching  thought,  to 

505 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

the  days  of  the  Sunday  school  in  the  old  saw- 
mill— to  a  chapter  of  prophecy  in  the  Book  of 
Isaiah  that  had  ever  been  a  favorite  of  mine. 
I  turned  to  it  and  read.  There  was  comfort 
in  the  words  for  me,  as  there  has  been  for 
countless  thousands  before  and  will  be  for 
countless  thousands,  generations  after  I  have 
become  dust.  If  these  words  could  be  written 
of  Him  who  was  greater  than  all — if  this  could 
be  true  of  perfection,  of  Divinity  itself — why 
should  I,  a  poor,  weak  worm  of  the  earth, 
repine  at  the  temporarily  successful  machina- 
tions of  traducers  ?  I  read  from  the  Book  of 
Gold: 

"He  is  despised  and  rejected  of  men;  a 
man  of  sorrows,  and  acquainted  with  grief: 
and  we  hid  as  it  were  our  faces  from  him;  he 
was  despised,  and  we  esteemed  him  not." 

These  and  all  the  other  sonorous  sentences 
of  the  chapter  I  read,  with  some  appreciation 
of  their  meaning.  I  returned  the  book  to  its 
shelf  and  my  mind,  recalled  from  the  turmoil  of 
the  past,  went  on  an  expedition  into  the  realms 
of  the  future. 

In  this  flickering  and  primitive  candle-light  I 
outlined  mentally  my  plans  for  the  days  to 
come.     Within  one  day — two  days — three  at 

506 


"THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES" 

the  latest,  I  should  be  free  to  come  and  go  as 
I  pleased.  My  first  effort  should  be  to  write 
down,  so  that  every  investor  in  the  country 
might  read  and  understand,  the  history  of  the 
days  that  had  gone  and  those  things  which 
had  brought  about  my  present  unfortunate 
state.  This  should  be  done  simply,  truth- 
fully, without  malice,  injustice  or  thought  of 
revenge.  Then  I  should  begin  the  process 
of  rehabilitation. 

As  I  planned  the  renewed  upbuilding  of  my 
business,  my  imagination  went  out  beyond 
the  whitewashed  walls  and  I  beheld  pictures 
of  the  future,  drawn  in  sure,  true  lines  upon 
the  easel  of  passing  time. 

I  saw  my  business,  now  shrunken  to  ex- 
tinction, grown  again  to  its  former  magnitude 
— and  more.  I  saw  the  great  army  of  in- 
vestors, now  on  the  point  of  being  scattered 
before  the  onslaughts  of  the  enemy,  again 
rallying  around  the  standard  of  "A  Square 
Deal,"  and,  with  shoulder  to  shoulder,  turning 
a  rout  into  a  victory.  I  saw  my  old  spacious 
offices,  now  closed  and  empty,  again  filled  with 
busy  employees  and  interested  clients.  I  saw 
within  their  doors  the  faces  of  all  the  old 
friends — and  hundreds  of  new  ones.     I  saw  a 

507 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

corporation,  with  my  name  as  its  name,  grow- 
ing to  great  proportions  and  returning  to  its 
stockholders  welcome  and  satisfactory  divi- 
dends. I  saw  my  name  cleared  of  all  the 
imputations  that  my  enemies  had  heaped  upon 
it,  and  my  reputation  emerging  clear  and 
unsullied  from  the  slanders  and  malicious 
falsehoods  of  evil  men.  I  saw  a  day  approach- 
ing, and  coming  swiftly,  when  Financial 
Thuggee  should  sink  to  well-earned  and 
ignominious  defeat;  when  the  Wolf-Pack 
should  be  scattered  and  its  leader  find  his 
proper  place  in  the  minds  of  all  men;  when 
financial  honesty  should  triumph  over  dis- 
honesty, justice  over  injustice  and  right  over 
wrong. 

These  things  were  in  my  mind  as  a  vision. 
In  that  environment  of  locks  and  walls  that 
would  be  disgraceful  did  not  conscious  inno- 
cence of  guilt  remove  the  stigma,  I  renewed 
the  resolution  made  so  many  years  ago: 

"I  will  never  admit  defeat;  I  will  fight  as 
long  as  there  is  a  breath  left  in  my  body,  and 
if  I  go  down  to  death  and  destruction  I  will 
approach  the  end  with  the  knowledge  that  I 
have  fought  a  good  fight — that  I  have  kept  the 
faith —  that  I  have  done  my  honest  best  to  put 

508 


"THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES" 

an  end  to  wrong  and  wickedness  in  finance. 

A  rattle  of  bolts  down  the  corridor,  and  the 
succeeding  tramp  of  footsteps  roused  me  with 
a  start  from  my  reverie.  I  looked  across  the 
improvised  candelabra  at  the  face  of  a  guard 
peering  in  through  the  bars. 

"Put  on  your  coat  and  come  on,"  he  said, 
not  ungently.  "Your  bail  has  been  secured 
and  your  friends  are  waiting  for  you  in  the 
office." 

Almost  as  one  in  a  daze  I  brought  myself 
back  to  the  present.  Putting  on  my  coat  and 
taking  one  last  look  at  my  surroundings  I 
stepped  through  the  now  opened  door  and 
followed  him  toward  the  outer  walls  and 
freedom.     It  was  exactly  nine  o'clock. 

Once  more,  as  I  neared  the  end  of  the 
corridor,  I  turned  to  look  at  that  barred  room 
which  had  been  my  habitation  for  three  hours. 

It  was  as  I  had  found  it,  but  for  the  slight 
moving  of  the  furniture,  and  awaited  the 
arrival  of  its  next  occupant — perhaps  one  less 
fortunate  or  less  innocent  than  I.  Its  cot,  its 
chair,  its  rules  against  the  wall,  its  Bible  on  the 
shelf,  all  were  stamped  ineradicably  on  my 
memory. 

Through  the  bars,  in  full  sight  from  the 

509 


THE  LIGHT  OF  FOUR  CANDLES 

corridor  and  twinkling  after  me  as  though  it 
would  cry,  "Bo  not  forget!  Be  faithful  and 
unfaltering  in  the  right!  Remember!"  shone 
a  beam  of  brighter  light  than  was  vouchsafed 
the  rest  of  the  barred  rooms  and  their  occu- 
pants. It  followed  me  as  I  passed  out  of  the 
place — out  of  prison  into  the  gorgeous  summer 
night — out  of  detention  into  the  joy  of  a  happy 
home-coming,  surrounded  by  my  wife  and 
children.  I  see  the  brightness  now.  I  shall 
never  cease  to  see  it.  And  until  I  forget  that 
June  evening  I  shall  never  give  up  the  fight. 
It  was  the  Light  of  Four  Candles! 


THE  END. 


510 


EVERY  INVESTOR 
IN  AMERICA 

Should  read  King's  Financial  Bulletin, 

"published  by  the  C.  F.  King  Company, 

and  personally  edited  by  C.  F.  King. 

^  Its  information  on  investment  matters 
is  reliable,  accurate  and  up-to-date.  It 
points  out  good  investments  and  warns  its 
readers  against  the  pitfalls  along  the  way. 
*I  Millions  of  dollars  have  been  made  by 
its  readers  since  the  first  day  of  its  publica- 
tion, six  years  ago.  Many  more  millions 
have  been  saved  because  of  its  warnings,  its 
exposures,  and  its  clear,  clean-cut  advice. 
fl  It  is  written  in  plain,  vigorous  United 
States  English.  It  has  no  enemies  to 
punish  and  no  friends  to  reward.  It 
carries  no  advertising  to  bias  its  utter- 
ances. 

King's  Financial  Bulletin 

is  issued  on  the  first  and  fifteenth  of  each  month, 
and  will  be  sent  regularly  to  any  investor,  post- 
paid  and   free   of    all    charges,    for   the    asking. 

Address:  Q.   F.    KING    COMPANY 

Fourth  Floor  Journal  Building     Boston,  U.  S.  A. 


A  BOY'S 
VACATION  ABROAD 

By  C.  F.  KING,  JR. 

A  true  diary  as  kept  by  a  seventeen-year- 
old  boy,  covering  a  six  weeks' 
junket  in  Europe 

1R  The  book  is  handsomely  bound  in  red 
silk,  with  title  stamped  in  gold.  Pro- 
fusely illustrated  with  photographic  repro- 
ductions from  actual  snapshots  made  by 
the  author. 

^  Life  aboard  ship  and  on  the  railway 
carriages  of  England  and  Continental 
Europe  graphically  and  entertainingly 
described,  with  the  light  and  cheerful, 
bubbling  spirits  of  a  seventeen-year-old 
school  boy.  This  book  has  been  read  and 
enjoyed  by  many  thousands,  both  young 
and  old.     It  is  now  in  its  fifth  edition. 


Price,  $1.50  per  copy,  sent  postpaid 

Address : 

C.  F.  KING  COMPANY 

FOURTH  FLOOR  JOURNAL  BUILDING 

BOSTON,  U.  S.  A. 


